National Parks propose limits on Senior Pass

[bonvanroulez]

Recent article from AARP

"[font=ff-dagny-web-pro, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]A new proposal from a Department of the Interior committee suggests eliminating senior discounts for national parks — which include 50 percent off at many campgrounds — during peak visiting times."[/font]

https://www.aarp.org/politics-society/advocacy/info-2019/national-parks-senior-discounts.html

Other suggestions from the committee include removing some environmental reviews on concessions development and allowing more private commerce, such as food truck sales and Amazon deliveries, in the parks.

 

[maki2]

Seems to me that if they reduced the number of concessions they could also reduce that overcrowding issue.

What...no place to buy a hamburger or a mini mart to purchase beer? I can't buy insect repellent or toys for the kids? I am not coming here again...not my kind of place.

The thinking that seniors are preventing families with kids from camping is flawed. First of all there are many young individuals who have chose not to have kids or who have not yet had kids. There are also quite a lot of seniors who love taking their adult children and/or grand children to see the national parks as family together time.

It the long run it comes down to wanting a lot more money out of the people who visit the parks. The business minded people in elected offices let themselves and even those who are not so business minded are under pressure to make the parks act like a business that must be self supporting. But that was not the intention of the national park system. If the fees are extremely high and that is done just to control overuse then they will become places that only the wealthy, high income individuals can visit.

The answer to overcrowding in the parks is a reservation system lottery for camping in the park. The lottery reservations are only needed for the peak season days when there are too many visitors, not for the off season times. You apply for a place and have the same exact chance as everyone else who applies. Of course no one will be happy about having to apply that way, especially if they don't get selected. But at least no one is being excluded based on who they are and it will stop the issue of who decides who is worthy of getting a campsite. But it won't solve the greedy types who think seniors should not be having any discounts. The case can be made that it is unfair but then again people with children under a certain age also feel those young children should get in for free too. We all love a good discount

 

[WanderingRose]

This is particularly interesting, and sounds like it would be discrimination.

“All we're saying is that it may not make sense on peak days like July 4 weekend to let seniors compete with a family with kids for a campsite,” Crandall reportedly added.

Doesn’t sound like they’re wanting seniors not to be allowed to rent campsites during peak times, just not to be able to get 50% off.

I have heard recently from others that campground rates for federal sites have taken a big jump, making them cost prohibitive for some, even with the 50% reduction.

 

[bullfrog]

Actually there is also a 4th grader pass which lets family members come in also, already in place. Unfortunately just as some prefer not to share their secret camping sites on public media because when they did they became overcrowded and destroyed the area the same is happening with the national parks. A simple video of one area of our park caused one area with a simple trail which a few thousand visitors a year that came to see and experience turn into some place without enough parking for all the tour buses for over a million visitors standing in line to see in just a couple years. Putting more limits on concessions, especially ones that cater to international visitors as they seem to be the majority of visitors, would help as concessionaires are business and they are not there to enhance wildlife and fauna. Unfortunately with the limited budgets and shortfalls most park superintendents and administrators have no other way that they can see to continue to "preserve and protect" the resource without the increased concession fees which only increase with visitation. A real catch 22 as the concessions have so much political influence. The only thing that has saved many of our remote areas is the lack of paved roads and cell phone/internet service! Let us hope peak visiting times are truly determined by visitation numbers and limited to a few of the most visited parks, not a blanket rule for all parks most of the year. Senior parks passes increased from $10 to $80 last year now this, I hope the AARP is able to point out to the National Park Service increased concession fees are where all the money is as the tour buses continue to roll in.

 

[bullfrog]

Actually there is also a 4th grader pass which lets family members come in also, already in place. Unfortunately just as some prefer not to share their secret camping sites on public media because when they did they became overcrowded and destroyed the area the same is happening with the national parks. A simple video of one area of our park caused one area with a simple trail which a few thousand visitors a year that came to see and experience turn into some place without enough parking for all the tour buses for over a million visitors standing in line to see in just a couple years. Putting more limits on concessions, especially ones that cater to international visitors who should be charged higher fees as they don't pay taxes in the US, as they seem to be the majority of visitors, would help as concessionaires are business and they are not there to enhance wildlife and fauna. Unfortunately with the limited budgets and shortfalls most park superintendents and administrators have no other way that they can see to continue to "preserve and protect" the resource without the increased concession fees which only increase with visitation. A real catch 22 as the concessions have so much political influence. The only thing that has saved many of our remote areas is the lack of paved roads and cell phone/internet service! Let us hope peak visiting times are truly determined by visitation numbers and limited to a few of the most visited parks, not a blanket rule for all parks most of the year. Senior parks passes increased from $10 to $80 last year now this, I hope the AARP is able to point out to the National Park Service increased concession fees are where all the money is as the tour buses continue to roll in filled with people that don't pay taxes instead of citizens on fixed incomes.

 

[highdesertranger]

IMO all this infrastructure in National Parks is BS. they need to tear 90% of it out. IMO the only infrastructure should be for the elderly and handicap.

they say these parks are for preserving nature. ha, give me a break they have turned the parks into Disneyland.

highdesertranger