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Re: Mike Enzi op-ed on raising NP entrance fees

Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2021 12:02 pm
by yellvet
Yellowstone is owned, sustained and supported by US tax-paying citizens. So, why does the NPS want to increase the Park's entrance fees for the very people who pay for the Park's maintenance, upkeep and salaries of Park personnel? Makes no sense to me whatsoever! Last year some friends and I boycotted the Park entirely because we were sick and tired of international visitors trying to steal our campsites and use all the services, that we, as taxpayers are entitled to and, pay for. Personally, I'm also getting pretty tired of being pushed down to the ground or out of the way by rude, Asian visitors who think that they can just push me out of the way and take over my photography shooting location. I'm pretty small and the rudeness and lack of courtesy shown to me in recent years has been awful and it's been getting worse and worse, with each passing year. If non-US citizens want to come to Yellowstone, that's fine. But Congress and the NPS needs to understand and recognize that US citizens come first. Yellowstone is our Park....it doesn't belong to any other country.

Re: Mike Enzi op-ed on raising NP entrance fees

Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2021 6:30 pm
by karenandbill
yellvet wrote:
Wed Dec 08, 2021 12:02 pm
Last year some friends and I boycotted the Park entirely because we were sick and tired of international visitors trying to steal our campsites and use all the services,
I completely agree with raising fees for international tourists. However, from our perspective the international visitor numbers were way down over the past two years because of covid. Same with the tour buses. There were a few but I would say only 10 % of what is was in 2019. It's a good thing because US tourist numbers were way up! It's scary to think what might happen if travel from overseas gets back to normal!!

What has really grown is the ecotours. They are everywhere. It's much better than the buses because the vehicles are smaller and usually the drivers are very knowledgeable along with being good drivers. However, we did see one off the side of the road with its rear wheels up in the air. Wouldn't you have just loved paying hundreds of dollars for that tour?!