DeFazio Urges Interior Secretary to Reconsider
Hike in Park Fees
Press Release
January 2, 2007
Contact: Danielle Langone
(202) 225-6416
From Congressman DeFazio's web site http://www.defazio.house.gov/
WASHINGTON, DC—U.S. Congressman Peter DeFazio sent a letter last
week to the Secretary of the Interior urging him to strongly
reconsider a proposal that would increase fees at Crater Lake
National Park and Lava Beds National Monument. Under the
proposal, entrance fees at Crater Lake would double, from $10 to
$20, and fees at Lava Beds would increase from $10 to $15.
While visitation to national parks has been decreasing
nationwide, Crater Lake National Park has bucked the trend, with
its attendance holding steady for the past 10 years. Park
officials attribute the steady visitation at Crater Lake to
regular return visits by Oregonians.
"It doesn’t make sense to increase park fees
while national parks are struggling to attract visitors,"
DeFazio said. "I am concerned that the increase in fees at
Crater Lake will discourage regular visits by Oregon families."
"I agree that the national park system is in need of additional
funding, but raising fees for park visitors will only drive
visitors away. Instead, the Department of the Interior should
raise the money it needs to improve the park system by
collecting the royalties that oil companies owe the United
States."
The text of the letter is below:
December 29, 2006
The Honorable Dirk Kempthorne
Secretary of the Interior
United States Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20240-0001
Dear Secretary Kempthorne,
I was disturbed by recent reports that the US Park Service is
proposing to double fees at Crater Lake National Park and
increase fees at Lava Beds National Monument. I strongly urge
you to reconsider this proposal.
Crater Lake National Park has been bucking the trend of
declining national park visitation. Park officials attribute the
steady visitation at Crater Lake to regular return visits by
Oregonians. I am concerned that the doubling of fees will deter
regular trips by Oregon families and Crater Lake will join the
parade of national parks experiencing declining visitation.
I have similar concerns with increased fees at the Lava Beds
National Monument. A November Los Angeles Times article
reporting on declining National Park visitation highlighted the
Superintendent at Lava Beds National Monument bemoaning the lack
of visitors. Surveys on visitation have found that 78% of
Latinos said they didn't visit national parks because they are
too expensive. It is difficult to comprehend how increasing fees
promotes visitation and increase revenue for park units or the
system at large. It simply defies the basic economic laws of
supply and demand.
I am addressing my concerns to you because I believe the
proposed fee increase represents the larger issue of misplaced
priorities within your Department. For the past several years,
Congress has provided funding above and beyond the President's
request to address the maintenance backlog throughout our
national park system. I appreciate that your budget is subject
to review and amendment by the Office of Management and Budget,
however, I would hope that the FY08 budget realistically
reflects the unmet needs of the national park system and
requests additional general funds from the Congress. I am sure
we agree that our national park system is in great need of
additional funding but I believe these fee increases will be
counter-productive.
Beyond my concerns regarding park funding, there is an issue of
social equity at play. On the one hand the Park Service is
proposing to double fees paid by hard-working taxpayers to use
their public lands. Meanwhile, your Department is abandoning
efforts to collect royalties from oil companies who are flush in
profits. If the same vigor used to justify fee increases was put
towards collecting the appropriate royalties from oil companies
the Department and taxpayer might be better off.
As the new Congress convenes, I intend to work with the new
Chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources to pursue
oversight on these issues and highlight these misplaced
priorities. Thank you, in advance, for your consideration of my
views and I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
/s/
PETER DeFAZIO
Member of Congress
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