Park visitors could see fee increases
<p>A retired couple who recently moved to Florida take in the views from Glacier National Park's Going-to-the-Sun Road on Oct. 4.</p>
Glacier National Park visitors could see hikes in entrance and other fees in the coming years. National Park Service director Jonathan Jarvis issued a memo to regional directors in August outlining the protocol for raising fees.
Glacier Park spokeswoman Denise Germann said the Park is still early in the process but could have proposals out for public comment by the end of this year.
“We’ve just started talking about it,” Germann said.
The last time Glacier Park increased entrance fees was in 2006, when the single-vehicle seven-day entrance fee was raised from $20 to $25, and the single-visitor hiker, biker or motorcyclist fee was raised from $10 to $12. That fee increase allowed the Park to offer a free shuttle service.
The Park will take public comments on the next proposed fee hike, Germann said.
The Jarvis directive is designed to give national parks more funding in the Park Service’s Centennial Year in 2016. The directive also allows for national parks to phase in fee increases.
“Each park should identify how the additional revenue will be used to improve the park experience,” Jarvis said.
Entrance and other fees are an important part of a national park budget.
Parks get to keep 80 percent of the fees they collect each year under the Federal Recreation Lands Enhancement Act.