The $10 lifetime senior pass needs to end

[kscherzi]

Saw this news article today (link below). The author sure has a strong opinion. Not sure it pertains to anybody on this forum.

The $10 lifetime senior pass needs to end

[Al and Missy]

And the premise is wrong. The pass does not get you everything for free. While I have no experience in national parks, in national forests it got me a discount on entry and nothing on camping fees. In a facility operated by a concessionaire, the concessionaire is free to set their own policy relative to discounts for the senior pass.

Al

[Protagonist]

One must remember— or be told if one doesn't remember— that the National Park Srvice is one of the few Federal agencies that actually turns a profit each year.

The profits are taken by Congress and rolled into the General Fund rather than staying in the NPS, but still, the $10 Senior Passes as well as the $0 Access Passes for handicapped of all ages, do not detract significantly from the NPS revenue stream.

[Adventure.AS]

I sure wish that I, as a Canadian, could get that NPS senior pass! I get 10% of camping at Ontario Provincial Parks.

[Rpatrick16]

I believe the article was written by a woman...but it really doesn't make any difference. It would be so easy to "violate" every bit of decorum this forum offers by a real expression of what one thinks of the idea much less the proposal! With that said I'll say nothing more.

[kscherzi]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

One must remember— or be told if one doesn't remember— that the National Park Srvice is one of the few Federal agencies that actually turns a profit each year.

I thought the IRS was the only agency that turned a profit!😁

Regardless, all you posters age 62 and over, you got your pass so this doesn't affect you. So relax. The proposal affects me (age 56) and other younger working folks. Yet $80 for life seems still seems like a bargain.

[PKI]

The concept is bad. Encouraging folks to use resources is good policy. If old folks have more money, they will spend it. The cost to experience Yellowstone was over $50 a night for the worst campground we stayed at on our trip. We purchased items at the park store as well as fuel and LPG. The local economy was not hurt by a free entry.

Enjoy the parks. Pat

[HiJoeSilver]

I know I'm going to get it for this(phrasing): If you get this simply for being old then every veteran who honorably served this country and swore to protect and defend this country with their life, should get into every National Park for free.

[Ted S.]

Originally Posted by HiJoeSilver

I know I'm going to get it for this(phrasing): If you get this simply for being old then every veteran who honorably served this country and swore to protect and defend this country with their life, should get into every National Park for free.

I agree, totally.

Thank you for you service.

[youngpeck]

I'm wondering what "turning a profit" for the Park Service might mean. The most current issue of High Country News (August 22), devoted to the Park Service's centennial celebration this year (August 25 is the 100th anniversary of the legislation that created the Park Service), has a good article on funding, and, citing federal sources, suggests that Yellowstone alone has a maintenance backlog of more than 600 million dollars. And, in 2013 it was estimated that the annual growth in the system-wide deferred maintenance bucket was $256 million.

I have a senior pass, which I use many times annually. The article in question in the Salt Lake Tribune is just silly. Oddly, there is no author listed--only "Tribune Reporters." One can tell from the included email contact who the author might be, but it seems rather fainthearted to hide behind the facade of a "group article."

The danger, as High Country News points out, is that with continued non-funding (yes, by the Congress) of the parks, there is pressure to engage in "corporate sponsorship" arrangements, and we know where that will end.

Mission 66, the decade-long funding program that celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Park Service, poured over one billion dollars (what would that be in today's money?) into park maintenance and infrastructure. What a shame that for the 100th anniversary we couldn't find it in ourselves to do even that much for the parks.

Perhaps the best way to celebrate the anniversary would be to thank the park rangers for the superb job they do day in and day out.

[spreadmywing]

The national park fees and library overdue fines are the only things I don't mind paying. Just saying. Really grateful for having national parks and libraries.

This year the get every kids in national parks program will get us free entry to all national parks. Happy with that. But happy to pay too

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by youngpeck

I'm wondering what "turning a profit" for the Park Service might mean.

Remember that I said the NPS doesn't get to keep its revenues; they are put into the General Fund, and some part of those revenues is doled back out to the NPS while the rest goes to other agencies.

"Turning a profit" in this case simply means that the dollars collected in revenue exceed the dollars allocated to the NPS budget by Congress. The fact that hundreds of millions of dollars worth of deferred maintenance never get funded is a symptom of Congress placing a lower priority on the work than they probably should compared to other agencies that are clamoring for money from the same general fund, and is not reflected in the balance sheet.

But since NPS is a Government agency, it doesn't have to turn a profit to stay in business; it could conceivably operate at a loss every year as long as Congress keeps funding it. And in fact, some individual parks do operate at a loss every year, while others operate at enough of a profit to keep the agency as a whole in the black.

NPS has an annual budget of almost 3 billion dollars. By comparison, Health and Human Services has a budget totaling just over 1 trillion dollars. The entire NPS budget for a year would fund HHS for less than a day.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, I'm sure glad to hear that all of the old people are wealthy. They didn't mention how much we old people paid to get into these parks before we turned 62, did they?

[xrvr]

And yet if I post on here that the states should take control of whatever parks are in there territory, I get blasted.

[moosetags]

I have worked and paid taxes all of my life. The Senior Park Pass is the only kind of free thing that I have ever gotten from the Federal Government. I intend to keep it and use it often.

I suppose that the young lady who wrote that article is also appalled that I would get senior price coffee at McDonald's.

Well, she can just pass her opinions around all of the Millennials who still live with and sponge off their parents.

Brian

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Airtandem

How much does the Feds and States get from RESERVE AMERICA to keep the parks running ? Re negotiate that % to off set OUR Senior Pass.

It's the other way around. Reserve America is paid to operate the website by each agency whose parks appear there, as I recently learned when some Alabama State Parks started using Reserve America instead of their previous policy of taking all reservations by phone. The agency cost to fund the RA website is less than the personnel cost of staffing the phone lines, and there are fewer mistakes (lost reservations, double bookings, etc.) using RA compared to reservations by phone only.

[AtomicNo13]

I for one am verry happy to pay out $80 for our yesrly parks pass! In my opinion its the only thi the govt really gets right! I wonder just ho long this will continue to be a grest thing!

[HowieE]

On the other side just last week our president opened the national parks for free for a year to any family having a child going into the 3rd. grade.

I think that is an idea that should be expanded to open the National parks for free to everyone regardless of age. As long as we can give untold billions to any country that asks for it we should be able to afford our parks. All we have to figure out is the kickback ration the those countries give our politicians.

[Trailer]

The first hint at his limited expanse of educations is his statement: "Bryce Canyon is the single most impressive thing I have ever seen in a national park."

[cerceify]

Canadians used to park for free all winter st the Florida Greenway. We used to have trouble finding a parking place for our horse trailer. At least a
minimum fee is due now
I hear the Water management camping is free.