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Bipartisan poll suggests the American public is much less likely to visit our national parks if high


Photo Credit: National Park Service; OAK helps launch Every Kid in a Park in Washington, D.C.

The Outdoors Alliance for Kids, a national strategic partnership of organizations with a common interest in connecting children, youth, and families with the outdoors, has released the results of a bipartisan poll OAK conducted about the potential impacts of a proposed large fee increases for some of the country's most popular national parks.

The fee increase would include seasonal rate increases that would more than double to $70 per vehicle in parks such as Joshua Tree National Park.

The poll found that:

  • Nearly seven-in-ten Americans (68 percent) oppose the proposed fee increase, including majorities across all political and major demographic groups

  • Sixty-four percent of Americans say they would be less likely to visit a national park if fees were increased

  • Among Americans with household incomes under $30,000 per year, who would be most impacted by the fee hike, 71 percent say they would be less likely to visit a national park if fees were increased

  • When it comes to funding national parks, Americans overwhelmingly believe that increasing federal funding is a better approach than increasing entrance fees (72 percent versus 28 percent, respectively)

  • An overwhelming 92% of Americans agree that access to national parks provides kids with valuable opportunities to be active outdoors and learn about the natural world

“Today’s young people are growing up inside, spending less time in nature than any generation in history, with profound consequences for their health and wellness,” said Jackie Ostfeld, Founder & Chair of Outdoors Alliance for Kids. “OAK believes every child and every family should have access and encouragement to get outdoors. This fee hike will reverse years of progress at the National Park Service to make our parks more inclusive and welcoming to kids and families of all backgrounds. If the Administration goes through with its proposal to more than double park entry fees, visiting places like the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone will be off the table for many kids and families.”

The poll included both Democrats (42 percent of respondents), and Republicans (36 percent), with 22 percent identifying as Independent. A total of 65 percent of respondents were white, with 15 percent identified as Hispanic/Latino, or having a Spanish-speaking background, 12 percent Black/African American, 5 percent Asian and Asian American, and three percent from other backgrounds.

A total of 35 percent of respondents were identified as being a high school graduate, while 33 percent had received a bachelor's degree, taken postgraduate work, or had received a masters, PhD, or professional degree.

While our backgrounds may differ, our values appear to be greatly the same. When asked how important it is for the federal government to protect and financially support national parks, a total of 82 percent of those polled cited it as being very important or extremely important (with 49 percent being in the "extremely important" category). Only one percent said it was not that important, with another one percent saying it was not important at all.

Again, the poll appears to indicate Americans are usually on the same page when asked about the importance of national parks being open and available to any Americans who wish to visit them. A total of 88 percent rated that as very or extremely important, with only one percent rating it as "not that important."

But the poll showed that only 40 percent of respondents were aware of the fee increase proposal, with the majority, 60 percent, either unaware of it, or unaware of whether they had or not. When told the specifics of the proposed fee increases, 68 percent opposed them, while 32 percent somewhat or strongly favored the increases. However, 72 percent of those polled stated that increasing federal funding for national parks is their preferred method of funding the maintenance and upkeep of park infrastructure.

After providing information about funding for the national parks and matters related to proposed fee increases, the numbers changed somewhat to total opposing fee increases at 74 percent.

“By any measure, these fee increases are significant, and the American people know it,” said Paul Sanford, Vice Chair of Outdoors Alliance for Kids. “Two-thirds of poll respondents oppose the increase. Three-quarters of respondents believe the fee increase will make the parks less accessible and will harm businesses in gateway communities. Nearly two-thirds said these increases will make it less likely they will visit the parks, which strongly suggests the projected increase in revenue will not materialize. Even if it does, the backlog won’t be eliminated for 165 years. For these reasons, we urge the Administration to withdraw its proposal to increase fees.”

The poll, conducted by Hart Research Associates and Chesapeake Beach Consulting, surveyed a representative sample of 1,000 adults nationwide between December 13 and 17, 2017. The margin of error is +/-3.1 percentage points.

The Sun Runner opposes the proposed fee increases, and urges the public to submit their own comments by December 22.

National Park Service Fact Sheet and Proposed Fee Increases (Including the link for you to submit your comments. Comment period closes December 22, 2017, at 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time.)

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