.gif){kind=small}
Cover Page
MENU
1981-1982
|
Visitor Fees in
the National Park System: A Legislative and Administrative History VI. THE ADMINISTRATION STRIKES BACK, 1981-1982 |
|
The General Accounting Office Study, 1982
Prompted by the congressional freeze on park entrance fees, the General Accounting Office (GAO) conducted an independent study of those fees in 1981-82. The objectives of the study were to estimate the proper entrance fee levels at 71 selected parks, using the 6 criteria in the 1972 amendment to the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act, [14] and to determine whether Congress should reconsider the freeze.
The resulting report, dated August 4, 1982, noted that entrance fees had not been raised for more than 10 years at 53 of the 64 units of the System then making such charges. Entrance fee revenues relative to NPS operation and maintenance costs had declined from more than seven percent of such costs in 1971 to two percent in 1981. By historical standards the fees were extremely low: the 1916 auto permit prices at Yellowstone ($10), Yosemite ($8), and Mount Rainier ($6) were equivalent to $83, $65, and $50 respectively in 1982 dollars. By current standards, the cost per family of entering the major parks was still much less than for entering such attractions as Disneyland, Biltmore, Mount Vernon, and Marineland.
Applying the unit-day-value method used by Federal water resources agencies in developing cost-benefit ratios for water projects, GAO estimated that the value for a family of four for a day at six major parks ranged from $7.64 to $11.40, while the entrance fee at most was only $2. The report proposed more moderate increases to $7 at 25 parks, instituting fees (at lower levels) at 23 additional parks, and extending hours of collection at 14 areas. Consistent with the average 150 percent increase proposed, an increase in the Golden Eagle Passport from $10 to $25 was recommended as well. It was predicted that the Service would net nearly $21 million more each year if these steps were taken.
The report noted some of the secondary benefits from entrance fee collection long cited by proponents. Collection at entrance stations reduced crime and vandalism by bringing visitors into contact with park officials at the outset, deterring those with unlawful intentions. In addition, collectors served to greet visitors and provide information on park attractions and hazards.
GAO's proposed fee levels were in the nature of suggestions. Its official recommendations were that Congress repeal the entrance fee freeze and remove the $10 ceiling on the Golden Eagle, and that the Secretary of the Interior direct the National Park Service to establish guidelines for applying the six legislated fee criteria, to set the Golden Eagle price based on the fee levels set at the individual parks, and to extend fee collection hours where cost-effective. Had the Service couched its 1979 fee increase proposal in terms of the legislated criteria, the report contended, the congressional concerns that the Service had not adequately accounted for the value of the visitor experience and had improperly linked fees to operation and maintenance costs would have been addressed. [15]
Following review of a draft of the report, Assistant Secretary G. Ray Arnett responded enthusiastically to GAO: "We agree with the proposed recommendations to the Secretary and work has begun to put all the recommendations into effect." He referred specifically to the efforts of the NPS Entrance and User Fee Work Group then underway, emphasized the importance of reimbursement to the Service and the parks for fee collection costs, and expressed his belief that the final report "will have positive influence on fee legislation that may be submitted to Congress." [16] The administration bill thereafter submitted neglected to provide for an increase in the Golden Eagle, however, virtually insuring that much potential revenue from higher individual park fees would be lost through increased purchases of the $10 all-park permit.
End of Chapter 6
14"Direct and indirect cost to the Government, the benefits to the recipient, the public policy or interest served, the comparable recreation fees charged by non-Federal public agencies, the economic and administrative feasibility of fee collection and other pertinent factors."
15"Increasing Entrance Fees--National Park Service," Comptroller General's Report to the Congress, Aug. 4, 1982.
16Letter, Arnett to Henry Eschwege, June 8, 1982, ibid., p. 51.
Top
Last Modified: Tues, Apr 4 2000 07:08:48 am PDT
http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/mackintosh3/fees6c.htm
.gif){kind=small}