Sad state of national parks and public lands.
On our way to Lassen Volcanic National Park. On a national forest rest stop and vista point, wifey went to the rest room. But it was posted "Closed due to lack of funding." And down on these...
Forum Discussion
The National Parks do not show a profit from entrance fees. The total collected for FY2020 is projected to be $312 million. The total NPS budget for FY2020 is $3.5 billion. So the entrance fees reflect less than 10% of the budget.
Of the 419 units of the National Park System, only 109 charge entrance fees. 80% of the fees collected are retained by the individual Park (100% if the unit collects less than $500,000). The other 20% is pooled and distributed to the Parks that do not collect entrance fees. Under current law, none of the fees are returned to the Treasury. The fees can only be spent on capital improvements. It cannot go to salaries or routine operations.
However... this got no media ink. In 2019 the Trump Administration changed the accounting rules for the fund. Previously, the fees could not be spent on salaries under any circumstances. This is why in the last government budget shutdown the Parks were closed even though there were hundreds of millions of dollars available in the fund. The Trump administration changed changed the rule so in the even of a future budget impasse, the NPS may borrow against the fund to keep the Parks open, and repay the fund when the impasse ends and general funds are available. The old rule was part of Al Gore's 'Reforming Government' initiative in the 1990s.
Of the 419 units of the National Park System, only 109 charge entrance fees. 80% of the fees collected are retained by the individual Park (100% if the unit collects less than $500,000). The other 20% is pooled and distributed to the Parks that do not collect entrance fees. Under current law, none of the fees are returned to the Treasury. The fees can only be spent on capital improvements. It cannot go to salaries or routine operations.
However... this got no media ink. In 2019 the Trump Administration changed the accounting rules for the fund. Previously, the fees could not be spent on salaries under any circumstances. This is why in the last government budget shutdown the Parks were closed even though there were hundreds of millions of dollars available in the fund. The Trump administration changed changed the rule so in the even of a future budget impasse, the NPS may borrow against the fund to keep the Parks open, and repay the fund when the impasse ends and general funds are available. The old rule was part of Al Gore's 'Reforming Government' initiative in the 1990s.
