On June 10, U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) and ten Senate colleagues sent a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum requesting information on the use of National Park Service (NPS) recreation fee revenue to fund beautification projects in Washington, D.C. The letter cites reporting that NPS is spending $60 million in visitor fee revenue to repair ornamental fountains in the District, along with additional funds for the renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and other projects near the White House.
Under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA), at least 80 percent of recreation fees collected onsite must be retained at the park where they were collected, with the remaining 20 percent available agency-wide. However, FLREA does not prescribe a distribution formula for revenue from online sales of America the Beautiful passes, which the senators say is being used to fund the D.C. projects. The letter notes that NPS faces a deferred maintenance backlog exceeding $24.2 billion and argues that redirecting fee revenue could reduce funding for individual parks, including Yosemite and Joshua Tree in California.
For additional information, contact RCRC Senior Policy Advocate, Staci Heaton.