Increased Entrance fees for Mt. Rainier Nat' Park

Apologies if this has already been posted. I saw on Haleakala, Olympic National Park, and now Rainier, that entrance fees will be increasing. Haven't heard anything from Crater Lake..

Current fees: Annual $30, 7-day $15, Walk-up $5, Motorcycle $10, Camping $12-15
Proposed fees: Annual $50, 7-day $25, Walk-up $12, Motorcycle $20, Camping $20


Make your voice heard:
parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?parkID...063&documentID=62342

This is part of a nation-wide push, for example:
www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2014/11/up...ng-changes-fees25870
Appropriations are unlikely to increase with the new Congress, so an increasingly fee-supported park system seems likely to be vunerable to visitation downturns, whether caused by the fees themselves or larger economic factors.

More worrisome to me for the long-term is the recent proposal by the NPS 'Masters of More' to issue naming rights and allow corporate logos in our parks:
www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2014/11/dr...g-opportunities25862
A commenter about this slippery slope uses the example of a possible 'Polaris Visitor Center' at Old Faithful

Other recent NPS news:
www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2014/10/up...job-temporarily25853
www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2014/11/ta...k-renews-debate25868
www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2014/11/co...erwise-congress25836
www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2014/10/op...0-years-neglect25790

Proposed rate for Rainier 7-day (aka the day pass) is $25, not $30.

A $25 entry fee will do an even better job at keeping the voting public away from the alpine wilderness.

Earlier news reports said this increase was to fund the celebration of the centennial of the creation of the NPS.

There is likewise a thread on this and proposed fee increases at ONP at Nwhikers.

You can submit comments at MRNP:

I'm using a different computer now, but I copied the MRNP link at NWhikers and this computer would not let me paste it here!

Go to page 1 of the NWhikers thread to find the link at MRNP for comments and a synopsis of the reasons for the increase.

This will hurt the poor for sure, but the parks are inadequately funded.