Tax on foreigners shortchanges parks

Another blast of unseasonably warm weather has ushered in the summer tourist season, but it’s not just the heat surprising some visitors. International guests are being greeted by another surprise at the entrance gates to Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks: an additional $100 charge per person.

Like many aspects of the Trump administration’s approach to governing, the new fee system appears to have been hastily conceived, poorly communicated and instituted with little regard for logistics such as delays at park entrances and rangers facing blowback. As the National Parks Conservation Association has pointed out in calling for the fees to be halted, park rangers suddenly are tasked with having to verify residency.

The potential new revenue for the national parks — $55 million annually for Yellowstone, according to one think tank’s estimate — certainly is welcome. Wyoming’s two parks face chronic funding shortages, especially for maintenance and facilities, and the international surcharge can help ease the backlog.

But the overall trend is troubling, as the Department of the Interior and Congress continue to offload the responsibility of funding our national parks onto visitors. For 30 years, since Congress first began allowing parks to keep a portion of entrance fees they collect, park budgets have been shrinking while federal land managers grapple with skyrocketing visitation and impacts.

In the same breath as President Trump issued an executive order last year directing Interior to charge nonresidents higher fees, he proposed a budget that slashed $900 million from the National Park Service — and Interior later extended that proposed cut to $1.2 billion. This year’s budget proposal is even worse.

Like the other nine marquee parks subject to the surcharge, Yellowstone and Grand Teton are world treasures and draw visitors from around the globe. Foreigners make up an estimated 15% of Yellowstone’s visitation. It doesn’t exactly foster international goodwill to hit these guests with exorbitant fees, especially with little warning. Picture queueing for the Louvre or Tower of London and having to fork out an extra 100 euros.

Our community consistently has called on Wyoming’s congressional delegation to provide adequate funding for the Park Service, but those pleas continue to fall on deaf ears.