Governor Jay Inslee wrote a letter to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, urging him to rescind the U.S. Department of the Interior’s proposal to increase the price to access national parks in Washington State. The proposal would raise the national park per-car entry fee from $25 to $75. Seventeen national parks across the country, including Mount Rainier and Olympic National Parks, would be impacted by the price hike.

“I understand the ongoing pressure to ensure parks are adequately resourced while maintaining their mission and providing the best possible visitor experience,” wrote Inslee, “however, the fee increases proposed by your department… will have significant negative impacts on Washingtonians and our state’s vitally important outdoor recreation economic sector.”

Inslee’s letter showed notable concern for many of the regions of Washington State, such as Lewis, Clallam, and Jefferson counties, that rely on national park visitors to contribute to their economies. The people of these counties also enjoy visiting the parks.

Inslee writes, “Your proposal, which would dramatically increase the cost of access to these beautiful lands and very likely diminish their number of visitors, would harm this economic activity and put a day at a national park out of reach for many lower- and middle-income families.”

In the announcement for this entry-fee increase, the National Park Service (NPS) said the increased revenue from this fee would be used for the parks’ $12 billion “maintenance backlog,” including significant infrastructure updates. However, Inslee says more money would be available if the federal government hadn’t proposed major cuts to the 2018 NPS budget.

“Your agency’s budget for federal fiscal year 2018 included nearly $300 million in proposed cuts to the National Park Service. These proposed cuts would far outweigh the anticipated new revenue from the increased fees. This creates a situation where Americans are being asked to pay more for their parks, and get much less.

“I now ask the federal government to do its part by rescinding this exorbitant fee increase, changing course from its drastic proposed funding cuts, and instead focusing on properly investing in our national park system.”

If you wish to comment on this proposal, the National Park Service has opened a comment period until Nov. 23 here.

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