Making America Beautiful Again by Improving Our National Parks
This executive order directs the Secretary of the Interior (working with the Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of State as needed) to raise entrance and pass fees for nonresidents (foreign visitors), use the additional revenue to improve park infrastructure and visitor access, and take steps to make park visits more affordable and accessible for United States residents. It also orders a review and possible rescission of Department of the Interior rules that the Administration deems to restrict recreation, seeks fuller implementation of a Congress-authorized restoration fund for park maintenance, and revokes a prior Presidential memorandum promoting diversity and inclusion in public lands. The intended effect is to shift more of the cost of park upkeep onto nonresident visitors while investing in facilities and services to expand capacity and improve the visitor experience for Americans. The order directs administrative changes (fee changes, policy reviews, and program implementation) but is subject to existing law and available funding.
Key Points
- 1Fee changes for nonresidents: Directs the Secretary of the Interior to develop a strategy to increase entrance fees and recreation pass fees charged to nonresidents in units of the National Park System that collect such fees.
- 2Higher pass prices for nonresidents: Instructs the Interior (and Agriculture where appropriate) to raise the price nonresidents pay for the America the Beautiful Pass (the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass) and any site-specific or regional passes, to the extent allowed by law.
- 3Revenue use: Requires that any increased fee revenue be used to improve park infrastructure, enhance enjoyment or access, and invest in Federal recreational areas consistent with the law governing recreation fee revenues (16 U.S.C. 6807).
- 4Service, access, and capacity for U.S. residents: Directs efforts to improve services and affordability for U.S. residents, increase visitor capacity, and fully implement the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund established by the Great American Outdoors Act to address maintenance backlogs.
- 5Regulatory review and preferential access: Orders a review of Interior rules related to public use of parks, with instructions to rescind rules that unnecessarily restrict recreation (with special scrutiny of rules from the prior administration) and to take steps to give American residents preferential treatment under remaining recreational access rules (including permits or lotteries). Also revokes the January 12, 2017 Presidential Memorandum on promoting diversity and inclusion in public lands.