Trump proposes fee hike for foreign visitors to national parks
Tourists to the United States could face higher costs to visit national parks under a proposal from the Trump administration.
President Donald Trump's recent budget proposal for the National Park Service would introduce a surcharge on visitors from other countries. The proposal doesn't detail how much the surcharge would be, but the administration's budget summary estimates it could raise $90 million 'to keep national parks beautiful.'
The proposal is part of a much larger budget plan advanced by Trump's Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and detailed in recently released documents, that would cut federal funding for national parks by roughly $1 billion. The budget also recommends transferring some national parks to state management to save costs and redirecting funds for conservation toward maintenance.
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Burgum has argued that parks can be made more efficient by the reductions, while park advocates warn that parks are already understaffed and under-resourced amid record levels of tourism.
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