The National Park Service’s proposed $70 entry fee at marquee parks, including four in Utah, could “devastate” small rural businesses and depress park visitation, while doing little to address the $11 billion maintenance backlog at the nation’s 413-site park system, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert says.
Herbert’s Dec. 19 comments were among thousands submitted to the Interior Department on the proposed fee hike, most of them panning the idea the agency announced seemingly out of the blue a few months ago.
“Tourism is an integral part of Utah’s economy and the lifeblood of many rural communities,” the Republican governor wrote in a letter to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.