Debate Rages Over New Fees At National Parks Some Say Entrance Should Be Free, Others Say Visitors Should Pay For Upkeep

Engraved in stone at the north gate of Yellowstone National Park are words that trouble Cal Glover, owner of Callowishus Park Touring Co. in Jackson, Wyo.

The inscription proclaims the park is “For the benefit and enjoyment of the people.”

But an increase in entrance fees this year means some won’t be able to enjoy Yellowstone, Glover said.

“Now only people who are well-to-do can afford that,” he said. “Entrance into the park should be absolutely free. I’ve always thought that.”

Viki Eggers, director of the West Yellowstone Chamber of Commerce, takes another view.

“I believe that the people who come here to visit will be glad to pay the extra money,” Eggers said.

While there’s disagreement about what effect, if any, higher entrance fees will have on visitation at Yellowstone and nearby Grand Teton National Park, there is no disagreement the parks need work.

Roads and restrooms, resource protection, new exhibits and improvements to campgrounds are all among projects the Park Service wants to undertake.

Fees for admission to the two national parks were increased in December after Congress authorized a three-year pilot program for 50 of the national parks.

The pilot program will mean participating parks can keep more of the admission fees collected, allowing them to tackle a backlog of maintenance projects. And Yellowstone has several hundred million dollars worth of projects it hasn’t been able to afford, park officials say.

In the fiscal year that ended in September 1996, Yellowstone collected nearly $3.8 million in gate receipts, and Grand Teton collected $2.5 million.

Each park was allowed to keep 15 percent, to cover the cost of staffing the gates, said Marsha Karle, a Yellowstone spokeswoman.

Under the new program, Yellowstone and Grand Teton must provide the U.S. Treasury with the same amount of money from gate fees as last year. The parks can then keep 80 percent of any additional money collected. The remaining 20 percent will be deposited in an account for other national parks.

The price of a seven-day pass to Yellowstone and Grand Teton doubled to $20. An annual pass is now $40, up from $15. The Park Service is charging $15 per snowmobile or motorcycle, compared with the $4 per person fee it charged prior to the increase.

“Most people, I think, are not totally opposed to it if the money stays in the park, which it will,” Karle said.

The the price of an annual pass to all national parks, called the Golden Eagle pass, has doubled to $50.

Yellowstone anticipates collecting $6.7 million in additional fees during the three-year program.

Matthew Cohn, director of development and promotions for Travel Montana, a state agency, does not expect fewer tourists because gate fees at Yellowstone were increased.

“Twenty bucks is still a good deal, considering what it costs to go to Disneyland for a day,” he said. A family of four would pay $120 for a day in Disneyland. A three-day pass for the family would be nearly $300.

Yellowstone is important to Montana’s tourism industry. Yellowstone and Glacier national parks are the top attractions for Montana’s summer visitors, according to state tourism officials.

Park Service officials reported no complaints when opening Yellowstone to snowmobilers in late December under the new fee system.