Welcome to McDonald’s Arches National Park?
In previous blog entries I’ve mentioned the difficulty placed upon the National Park Service (NPS) with funding reductions by the federal government. In an attempt to make up for the shortfall visitors are now having to pay for more expensive admission fees to several national parks.
Park Fee Hikes Questioned – USA Today (4/29/07)
Unfortunately numerous National Parks are now feeling the pinch and evaluating the option to increase fees:
More news articles on rising NPS fees across the country – Google News Search Results
As bad as fee increases are something even more troubling could be on the horizon. Due to funding reductions over the past 6 years the National Park Service might seriously look into the prospect of corporate sponsorship.
Golden Arches National Park might be on horizon – National Trails Training Partnership
National Parks Seeking Corporate Sponsorship – The New Standard (10/05)
I’ve conducted a thorough search to see where the NPS stands on this and nothing appears to be imminent, but the prospect alone of corporate named trails makes me cringe. National Parks have such a rich history it would be a shame to see that tainted by Corporate America. Let’s hope that funding increases for the National Park Service and such a prospect never become a reality.
Technorati Tags: National Park Service, NPS, corporate. sponsor, fee, hike, outdoor, recreation
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In some parks this is already the case and has been for many years. Here’s an except from 1975:
“In 1916, when the National Park Service was founded through the efforts and devotions of Horace Albright, Stephen Mather, and Woodrow Wilson (let us not forget that Horace Albright has been a most potent force on behalf of the environment for fifty years), business people were invited to invest in the parks as concessionaires, to operate under carefully controlled standards and supervision, and to be allowed to make a fair return on their investment and effort. Unfortunately, this did not work out as well as expected; depreciation, amortization (with bank loans not possible on government–owned properties), rising costs, the inevitable beckoning of expansion, and the greater profit possibilities have resulted in a situation where it is quite reasonable to say the concessionaire “runs” the Park.” –Ansel Adams
Guy
[Reply]
Guy great background. For myself though I see a huge difference between a concessionaire and a large corporate sponsor. It’s the erosion of park history and just plain poor taste that gets to me with this type of fund raising concept. I think its safe to assume that signage would be the first target for display of corporate sponsorship… “Welcome to Yosemite Sponsored by Microsoft” or “Garmin John Muir Trail”. The concept make me cringe.
[Reply]
Oh, I don’t disagree at all. This will be the ultimate sellout to big money and communicate loud and clear to the rest of the world what our national priorities are. It would truly be a shameful day if that were to happen.
Guy
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