ophidiae:

the-hermit-in-her-cave:

destinyrush:

I just wanna talk to whoever thought this was a good idea

This is probably even more shady than it seems. They raise the rates and then less people go. Low attendance numbers leads to that park getting less attention and less money. This discourages new parks and devalues current parks. Then the government can be like “lol people don’t care about nature let’s drill” Parks and libraries should be free places for people to enrich themselves, but smart sheep aren’t worth anything 🐑

^^^This. It’s why they’re also slashing park funding. According to the linked article, the current budget proposal includes:

• Cutting base operating funding by $132 million, affecting at least
  90 percent of parks. This includes cuts to law enforcement, health and
  safety, natural and cultural resource projects, and volunteer and youth
  programs.
• Cutting 1,242 staff positions.
• A 37 percent cut to the Historic Preservation Fund.
• A drastic cut to federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, which
  helps parks purchase private lands within park boundaries from willing
  sellers that would otherwise be vulnerable to inappropriate commercial
  or residential development.
• Elimination of the National Heritage Area program, which preserves
  large historic landscapes managed through innovative partnerships.

Combined with the drastic rate hike, it’s hard to see this as anything other than a ploy to force park closures.