Tell Trump's White House exactly how you feel about paying $70 to enter a national park

A new proposal would double entrance fees for popular national parks during peak seasons.
 By 
Keith Wagstaff
 on 
Tell Trump's White House exactly how you feel about paying $70 to enter a national park
The best nature money can buy. Credit: LightRocket via Getty Images

Love the great outdoors? Better get out your wallet.

The National Park Service has proposed a fee increase to $70 per car to enter 17 "highly visited national parks" during peak seasons.

That's right: Yellowstone, Yosemite, Joshua Tree, and 14 other parks would could cost $70 to enter, up from around $25 to $30. Sorry families looking to enjoy nature! The U.S. government will need that money to come from somewhere to pay for Donald Trump's tax cuts for the wealthy.

But there is something you can do: the proposal is open to public comment, and you can share your thoughts here. (It only lasts 30 days, ending Nov. 23, so get on it.) And, as always, you can contact your senator or congressperson.

Here's all the parks that would be affected:

  • Acadia National Park

  • Arches National Park

  • Bryce Canyon National Park

  • Canyonlands National Park

  • Denali National Park

  • Glacier National Park

  • Grand Canyon National Park

  • Grand Teton National Park

  • Joshua Tree National Park

  • Mount Rainier National Park

  • Rocky Mountain National Park

  • Olympic National Park

  • Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park

  • Shenandoah National Park

  • Yellowstone National Park

  • Yosemite National Park

  • Zion National Park

The fee increase would be a horribly regressive way to pay for "improvements to the aging infrastructure of national parks." For lots of families, national parks are the only way to experience the great outdoors and take a budget-friendly vacation at the same time.

Obviously, a lot of people are extremely upset.

Overall, it's not been a great couple of days for Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, who is ultimately responsible for the national park proposal, as well as the uproar over a $300 million contract given to a two-person company from his hometown to restore power to Puerto Rico.

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Keith Wagstaff

Keith Wagstaff is an assistant editor at Mashable and a terrible Settlers of Catan player. He has written for TIME, The Wall Street Journal Magazine, NBC News, The Village Voice, VICE, GQ and New York Magazine, among many other reputable and not-so-reputable publications. After nearly a decade in New York City, he now lives in his native Los Angeles.

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