skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Deadline Nears to Oppose Big Entry Fee Increase at National Parks

play audio
Play

Monday, November 6, 2017   

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Many New Mexicans who visit national parks could be priced out next summer.

The U.S. Interior Department is taking comments until Nov. 23 on its proposal to more than double entry fees at 17 of the most popular national parks during the peak season.

The department says a fee increase from $30 to $70 per vehicle would fund overdue park improvements.

Susan Torres, communications director for the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, worries that national parks are at risk of becoming playgrounds for the better-off.

"This is a prohibitive amount,” she states. “I think it's a huge increase that will really prevent a lot of, especially low-income, families from getting out onto the pubic lands that belong to them."

The Interior Department's rate increase would fund improved park roads, bridges, campgrounds, restrooms and visitor centers.

The public can comment on the proposed increase at nps.gov.

The boost in entry fees would raise $70 million, but that's less than the $1.5 billion cut to the National Park Service budget proposed by the Trump administration.

Torres cautions the public could pay more without seeing any improvements.

"This fee increase is coming at a time when the administration is proposing a 12 percent cut to the Interior Department budget, so raising the fees really won't help with the maintenance backlog overall," she stresses.

The hike in prices would affect popular parks, including Grand Canyon, Rocky Mountain and Yellowstone.

Torres says the fee increase means working families earning minimum wage could spend more than a day's pay to get the family into a national park.

"During the previous administration, there was a real push to get more youth into the parks and get more diversity into the parks and get what makes up America and kind of make it more representative of who was visiting the parks, and I don't think we're going to be seeing that push anymore," she points out.

More than 330 million people visited the National Parks during the 100th anniversary in 2016.





get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021