would you pay $41 to enter a National Park?

Johno02 wrote:
If you are not aware of it, the fees for National Parks access goes directly to Washington and into the general budget. Meanwhile, the budget for National Parks is being cut more and more...

@#%@#~!

Parks cost money, and there's too many free rides in the USA, so I can live with "pay to play"...

Of course, there's that other problem you highlight that there's so much budget shuffling so that we aren't paying to play, but to give other folks I-phones...(sorry, that's probably a touch over the political line- but it's pretty much both parties- our government is robbing Peter to pay Paul.)

And with the post above acknowledged- that maybe the money stays in the park- but nevertheless, the budget still get's shuffled with the bottom line being....

3oaks wrote:
If all the National Park fees and money raised inside of the parks stayed with the parks, there wouldn't be a need to raise the entrance fees and at the same time the parks would be better maintained. The biggest problem being that most of the money that the parks themselves generate goes back to Washington D.C. and squandered on other budget items. :M

Actually, the money raised at a park stays at that park. None of it goes to Washington. Now, the National park Service can defer some of their funding from going to a park that has an admission fee, but that is a different issue.

Remember the old days in Yellowstone when bears were common along the roads and people created traffic jams stopping and feeding them from their cars? Then the bears lost their fear of people and expected a handout and began to create problems for said people and then they complained about sharing their space with them. So they were immediately trapped and taken out and released in the boonies. So for a long time you could go to Yellowstone and never see one.

I haven’t been to Yellowstone in a few years, but I remember on some latter trips the DW saying bears in Yellowstone were just an substantiated rumor. So I talked to a ranger and rousted everyone out in the middle of the night and we went out and found bear. So it’s possible to see bear, but it’s a national park, not a petting zoo, you have to expend some effort, they’re not going to come to you. I was surprised the article said grizzles along the road were a major draw, that’s new to me. May be time for another trip.

As far as the survey goes, I wouldn’t reomtely consider paying double so some people could see a bear. And I think if grizzlies started wandering into their campsites or sharing their trail this “survey” might become obsolete very quickly.:D

Johno02 wrote:
If you are not aware of it, the fees for National Parks access goes directly to Washington and into the general budget.

Completely wrong. 80% of fees stay with the park in which they were received. The rest goes to the National Park Service as a whole to be used as needed (such as in parks with no fees).

Also,it is not $25 per day per person as the article states. It is $25 per car for 7 days. If you have 4 people in your car, it works out to 89 cents per day per person for the entrance fee. Try to go anywhere else in the country for that.

Johno02 wrote:
If you are not aware of it, the fees for National Parks access goes directly to Washington and into the general budget. Meanwhile, the budget for National Parks is being cut more and more, down to the point that there is very little or no maintenance staff, and fewer Rangers. At at least one major National monument, visited by thousands daily, there is no handicap access to restrooms or the biggest part of the monument. The equipment is there, but is not used due to the cost of maintenance. So, if you want to see our National parks, you better do it before they are all sold to private companies and the price will really go up then! Most visitor facilities and shops are already being run by private contractors,and volunteers working for free.

Where are people getting this information?
While this was true a long time ago, it hasn't been the case for almost 20 years.
If local rangers are telling this to visitors, they are probably seasonals that don't have any idea about funding or budgeting in the Federal recreation programs.

The Fee Demonstration program began in 1996 and this ultimately led to formalization of the program across all Federal properties with Recreation programs via the Recreation Enhancement Act in December of 2004.
I am a retired federal lands recreation manager and I am very familiar with the recreation enhancement act. It literally amounted to millions of dollars that we were able to keep and spend on crews, maintenance, and other recreation-related projects on the same unit that collected the fees.
Here is a link directly to Yellowstone's website which says the park keeps 80% of all the fees they collect. (The other 20% stays with the NPS, but can be used anywhere across the country. This is done to help out less visited parks.)
Link to Yellowstone NP fee page

WyoTraveler

I agree 100%
You used the word "had" as compared to "have" guess you are not there anymore
We still use the word "have" Wolf, Griz, Black, Elk, Moose, Turkey, Coyote, Deer, Eagles, Osprey, etc......
It's wonderful and even better very few if any folks here they tend to hang out at the land of "no"

Pay me $41 and I'll show you some bears and wolves. Pay me first in case you get too close. LOL Probably see as many grizzles and wolves in the national forests for free. We had both grizzles and wolves on our property. Grizzles like the apples off our trees.

In the Smokey Mountain Nat'l park it will cost you 00$ and you will almost invariably see at least one black bear. However, be prepared to drive in bumper to bumper traffic all day long.

Even at $66.00 a 7 day pass to Yellowstone and Grand Teton parks is a fantastic bargain. And I have no doubt visitation wouldn't drop a bit if that became the going rate. There are already several national parks at $50.00 and that only gets you the one park, not two like the Yellowstone/Grand Teton pass does.

National Parks - The Land of "NO"
Too many people ruin the place - they love it to death
There are hundreds of places where you can be as close to bears as you desire
Griz or Black or Brown what ever you desire
Check out a National Forrest far less use of the word "NO" you can not do that what ever it is you want to do