Re: “,” Oct. 27 editorial; and “,” Oct. 27 news story.
It was interesting to contrast the Denver Post editorial on Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke raising national park fees with the article about President Donald Trump shrinking two national monuments in Utah in last Saturday’s Post. The editorial correctly notes the “massive use of these popular parks” and “excessive” wait times to get into some parks.
Previous articles have identified problems created by increased use of wilderness areas such as Conundrum Hot Springs as well as Colorado fourteeners. Clearly we, the public, love our public lands.
Despite the obvious popularity of protected natural areas, the Trump regime is proposing to dramatically reduce the size of two Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments. Both areas are national treasures rich in irreplaceable cultural and ecological resources.
It would seem obvious to all but Trump and Zinke that we need more protected areas, not less.
ұԱ.ٳ, Denver
Having worked for the National Park Service for more than 30 years on maintenance and capital improvement projects, I conceptually agree with the notion of raising national park entrance fees.
To preserve and protect these precious resources for future generations, something must be done. Yes, the parks should be available to all, but unfortunately statistics indicate that for a long time the parks have been financially inaccessible to lower-income people.
The proposed new fee is small in comparison to other recreation opportunities such as the Disney resorts that charge a minimum of $100 per person. However, the new entrance fee will, unfortunately, generate only $70 million, a minuscule amount in comparison to the almost $12 billion and growing park maintenance backlog. This coupled with the administration’s intent to cut $1.5 billion the agency’s budget makes the new entrance fee a farce, so why bother?
DZٲ,Denver
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