Senior discounts at national parks in budget crosshairs

Senior discounts during peak camping season may be on the chopping block under a controversial proposal submitted to the federal conservation agency that wants to privatize the nation’s parks. 

Older recreationists would have to pay full price to access National Park Service campgrounds — like Big Bend or Yosemite — during the proposed blackout period, or the summer months that run from the end of June to just before the Labor Day weekend, according to a proposal submitted last month to the Interior Department. 

The idea has drawn the ire of advocates for seniors who point out that access to national parks for older Americans has been constrained under the Trump administration. In 2017, the Interior Department increased the cost of a lifetime senior pass to $80 from $10. The last time the cost of the senior pass increased was in 1994. 

“What’s most troubling with this proposal is that seniors have already paid for this senior pass and they would have to pay twice during the blackout period,” said Bill Sweeney, senior vice president of government affairs at AARP. “We think that if someone paid they should get what they paid for and be able to enjoy a national park just as much as anyone else.” 

That’s not the only suggestion raising eyebrows from the “Made in America” Outdoor Recreation Advisory Committee, which was formed last March and unnerved conservation advocates when it included concessions-industry executives among its lineup, including representatives from  Aramark Leisure and Delaware North. Conservation experts are concerned that business interests are seeking to privatize public services just as the Trump administration is proposing to slash the National Park Service’s budget by about $495 million to about $3.5 billion next year. 

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The federal agency already introduced electric bikes in federal parks in August. But the proposal also wants to evaluate services like food trucks, broadband internet service and overnight tent rentals in campsites. According to a comment to the Los Angeles Times, Derrick Crandall, vice chairman of the committee and a counselor with the National Park Hospitality Association, also wants camp goers to opt in for services like Amazon deliveries to their campsites: 

“Our recommendations would allow people to opt for additional costs if they want, for example, Amazon deliveries at a particular campsite,” Crandall told the LA Times. “We want to let Americans make their own decisions in the marketplace.”

In an emailed statement, an Interior Department spokesman said Outdoor Recreation Advisory Committee was terminated on November 1 as part of a federal review of advisory committees. The Interior Department spokesman said, “No action has been taken on the committee’s recommendations, and once the report is fully reviewed, we’ll respond as appropriate.”