DOI Report: Park Service Missed Tens of Millions in Potential Fees

"By failing six years ago to implement higher entrance fees across all 131 parks that charge them, the National Park Service left tens of millions of dollars on the table in potential revenues, a report from the Interior Department's Inspector General asserts.

While the Park Service now is trying to boost entrance fees across many of those parks, it could have been collecting an additional $28 million a year from 2008 on but failed to do so, in part because of the long and cumbersome process that must be navigated to gain approval for higher fees, the report pointed out. Former National Park Service Director Mary Bomar in 2008 lifted the moratorium on entrance fees increases, but parks were hesitant to seek permission to raise fees, the report noted."

Kurt Repanshek reports for National Parks Traveler March 2, 2015.