The National Park Hospitality Association (NPHA) has expressed support for the decision recently made by the U.S. Department of the Interior to allow use of funds collected from park visitors, under the authority of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, to protect parks and park visitors during the lapse in park appropriations.
“NPHA has actively supported visitor fee retention by federal recreation providers and use of collected funds for visitor-related purposes,” said Scott Socha, NPHA chairman. “That position is clearly reflected in 16 U.S. Code Chapter 87 – Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement.”
NPHA noted that there are success stories about partnerships allowing continuing public access across the nation at the Statue of Liberty and Yellowstone National Park, the Grand Canyon and Alcatraz. But some park units were unable to forge and sustain these partnerships and now face a choice between closure or allowing resource damage and social conflict, according to the association.
“NPHA also strongly supports learning from experiences arising from federal shutdowns where parks and park visitors are unintended victims of the inability of the White House and the Congress to reach agreement on appropriated funding,” Socha said. “The October 2013 shutdown was painful to millions of Americans who were denied entry to parks. That shutdown cost concessioners, thousands of their employees and gateway communities millions of dollars. Congress eventually paid furloughed federal workers but not those partners to parks that also suffered. We welcomed the commitment of this Administration to avoid a repeat of the draconian action of 2013 and its receptivity to more than 50 agreements involving states, local communities, concessioners and others to maintain access to parks and underwrite key services like law enforcement, trash, restrooms and more.”
The Interior’s action opens up limited access to more than $400 million in non-appropriated funds paid by park visitors to underwrite visitor services but not yet obligated.