The National Park Service announced Pea Ridge National Military Park will modify its entrance fees to provide additional funding for infrastructure and maintenance needs to enhance the visitor experience. Effective June 1, 2018, the entrance fees to the park will be $20 per vehicle or $15 per motorcycle. A $10 per adult fee will be charged to those adults 16 and above entering the park on a bicycle or on foot. An annual park pass will cost $35.
All of the money received from entrance fees remains with the National Park Service, with at least 80 percent of the revenue going to Pea Ridge National Military Park.
Revenue from entrance fees remains in the National Park Service and helps ensure a quality experience for all who visit. At Pea Ridge National Military Park, at least 80 percent of entrance fees stay in the park and are devoted to spending that supports the visitor. The other 20 percent of entry fee income is shared with other national parks for projects.
In response to public comments on a fee proposal released in October 2017, there will be a modest increase for all entrance fee-charging parks, rather than the higher peak-season fees initially proposed only for 17 highly-visited national parks.
"This increase in fees will allow us to continue to protect, preserve and share the special place here at Pea Ridge National Military Park," said park superintendent Kevin Eads.
National parks have experienced record-breaking visitation, with more than 1.5 billion visitors in the last five years. Throughout the country, the combination of an aging infrastructure and increased visitation has put a strain on park roads, bridges, campgrounds, waterlines, bathrooms and other visitor services and led to an $11.6 billion deferred maintenance backlog nationwide.
The additional revenue from entrance fees at Pea Ridge National Military Park has provided a wide range of projects that improved or will improve the park and visitor experience, including but not limited to the hiring of seasonal work staff, providing interpretive programs, purchasing original paintings of the battle, replacing worn-out flooring in the visitor center, purchasing replica cannon tubes, replacing split rail fencing and replacement of failing windows at the park visitor center.
Entrance fees collected by the National Park Service totaled $199.9 million in Fiscal Year 2016. The NPS estimates that, once fully implemented, the new fee structure will increase annual entrance fee revenue by about $60 million.
Pea Ridge National Military Park has had an entrance fee since 1993. The current rate of $15 per vehicle or $10 per motorcycle has been in effect since 2015. The park is one of 117 National Park Service sites that charge an entrance fee; the other 300 national parks will remain free to enter.
The price of the annual America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Annual Pass and Lifetime Senior Pass will remain $80.
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About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees who care for America's 417 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Visit www.nps.gov for more information.
General News on 05/09/2018