Changes to National Park fees
Just saw an article from CNN claiming that the National Parks have announced the final fee increase decisions for this year. Day use fees will increase by $% Annual Passes for single parks will inc...
Forum Discussion
Well, maybe it wasn’t a rant, but it certainly touched a nerve.
Let me reiterate a word from my previous post, Balance
Certainly, some activities should be outsourced to concessionaires, but I still believe that there are cases where an activity could be managed in-house, and the revenue retained by the NPS. (This post was about rising costs and fees). Personally, I think campgrounds could be run very effectively by a combination of NPS employees and volunteers. I would love to know what WRVPO thinks about that. I have observed in my career, that once an organization starts outsourcing, they don’t know when to stop, both in the public sector and private. Balance
I agree that volunteers are not right for every job. I volunteered at a major golf tournament for more than 25 years. Assisted by professional staff from the PGA Tour, over 2000 volunteers made this annual event happen. Because of the work of volunteers, about a million dollars per year was raised for local charities. That was the motivation for most volunteers. But some jobs were not attractive to volunteers. I worked the entire tournament in a parking lot one year. Never again. So, the Tour opted to outsource some tasks, like parking lot security, and port-a-potty management. For several years I had oversight of about 300 volunteers. Volunteers can be a real pain in the rear. They come and go as they please, and complain when they don’t get their perks. But they play a useful and vital roll.
monkey44 said he thought many major parks were overrun with concessions, but did not give specific examples. Yes, there are a lot more people, but I don’t think concessionaires are to blame. Last year DW and I took a bucket list float trip down the Colorado. It would not have been possible without the concessionaire, who provided several options for us to choose from.
BALANCE
Let me reiterate a word from my previous post, Balance
Certainly, some activities should be outsourced to concessionaires, but I still believe that there are cases where an activity could be managed in-house, and the revenue retained by the NPS. (This post was about rising costs and fees). Personally, I think campgrounds could be run very effectively by a combination of NPS employees and volunteers. I would love to know what WRVPO thinks about that. I have observed in my career, that once an organization starts outsourcing, they don’t know when to stop, both in the public sector and private. Balance
I agree that volunteers are not right for every job. I volunteered at a major golf tournament for more than 25 years. Assisted by professional staff from the PGA Tour, over 2000 volunteers made this annual event happen. Because of the work of volunteers, about a million dollars per year was raised for local charities. That was the motivation for most volunteers. But some jobs were not attractive to volunteers. I worked the entire tournament in a parking lot one year. Never again. So, the Tour opted to outsource some tasks, like parking lot security, and port-a-potty management. For several years I had oversight of about 300 volunteers. Volunteers can be a real pain in the rear. They come and go as they please, and complain when they don’t get their perks. But they play a useful and vital roll.
monkey44 said he thought many major parks were overrun with concessions, but did not give specific examples. Yes, there are a lot more people, but I don’t think concessionaires are to blame. Last year DW and I took a bucket list float trip down the Colorado. It would not have been possible without the concessionaire, who provided several options for us to choose from.
BALANCE
