A proposed new fee system targeting non-residents who visit U.S. national parks has stimulated furious opposition. Now, both park staff and visitors are at the end of their rope. As of January 1, 2023, non-resident international visitors are subjected to a $100 fee on top of regular national park entrance fees. This fee increase, which affects 11 popular parks including the Grand Canyon, Everglades, and Yellowstone, has raised the annual pass price for non-residents from $80 to $250.
In a surprising turn of events, the reimagined aesthetic “America the Beautiful” passes now feature iconic art of former President Donald Trump. They feature a likeness of George Washington. Kieran Suckling, the executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity, blasted the decision. He argued that the use of Trump’s likeness flouts the clear rules designed to inform such decisions. The image was originally to be selected as part of a photography competition—a selection process that clearly never happened.
Our National Park Service (NPS) staff have heard from businesses that the new fee structure has taken a lot of people by surprise. Once implemented, this left entry lines growing longer as park staff were now having to conduct nationality checks. In turn, visitors experience longer wait times and mounting aggravation. Many cars loaded with tourists have accrued charges well over $600, as they create havoc in the wake of the park’s recently imposed charges.
Staff at several national parks have raised their opposition to the shift. One entrance gate staffer stated, “It’s been chaos, for staff it has been very trying.” Now park staff face increased pressure, even as they’re reporting being understaffed. Another staffer lamented, “We are badly understaffed, people are working in multiple jobs and now this fee policy has everyone scrambling around.”
Visitors too, have responded with outrage at the exorbitant new fees. According to one entrance staff member, “A lot of people just turn around, some people yell and get angry. It’s an outrageous fee; it’s like we are telling people we don’t want them here. It’s not in the spirit of national parks.” The concern is a reflection of a growing fear that these financial barriers could keep would-be visitors at bay for decades.
Center for Biological Diversity executive director Kieran Suckling has denounced the fee hikes as illegal. He cautions that these increases may dissuade visitors from coming to America’s world-famous national parks. He stated, “What they’ve done is illegal and will discourage people from coming to America’s national parks, which are revered around the world.” He further noted that instead of coming to enjoy natural beauty, tourists will leave with feelings of being exploited: “Otherwise, people will just come here and go back talking about how they’ve been cheated and how government is so stingy and xenophobic.”
The Center for Biological Diversity has already responded by filing suit in federal court to overturn these changes. Suckling focused on the day’s urgency to address what he described as an extreme overreach of power. He continued, “Any American should be able to decide to insure something like this with a sticker.” Trump is acting like a two-bit tyrant. Plastering his face all over everything, like he’s freaking Mussolini or something, is not only childish and comical, it’s fascistically frightening.
The implementation of these fees is an unprecedented change in how foreign visitors to our national parks will experience them. The exorbitant new costs could put international tourism out of reach at these once beloved historic tourist destinations. Local park officials are keenly aware that they need to be financially sustainable without losing public accessibility. This balance will be essential to maintaining the spirit of inclusion that national parks have long espoused.