Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski said Thursday morning she is concerned about the Interior Department’s proposed doubling of entrance fees for 17 of the most popular national parks and will be looking at holding a hearing on the National Park Service proposal.
The Interior Department announced this week fees to visit many of the nation’s most popular parks — including the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Acadia and Zion — will more than double in the next year to make up for budget shortfalls.
The committee’s top Democrat, Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington state, raised the issue at Thursday’s hearing on protecting the electric grid from cyberattack.
“Many of my constituents woke up to, literally, shock over the fact that these exorbitant rates would be charged in our parks systems, so I hope we can have some input on this and show that our constituents are extremely concerned about it,” Cantwell said at the hearing.
She noted in both her state and the chairwoman’s state, the outdoor economy is a huge “juggernaut” and this proposed fee increase could potentially harm.
Murkowski agreed with Cantwell and said she would look into the increased costs.
“And know that I join you in your concern with the recent announcement by Park Service about the fees,” Murkowski said. “So, that is something we will look to.”
The National Park Service’s proposed fee changes would raise fees from $30 to $70 during the busiest times of the years for about half the parks and from $25 to $70 for the others. The increased revenue would be used to tackle the maintenance backlog for many of the nation’s national parks.
