3/14/98

Yosemite National Park entrance fees quadrupled in 1997 from the previous $5 per car to $20. The annual pass is now $40...up from the previous $15.

Yosemite National Park officials say those increased fees will go to good use. Among a list of high priorities: an aging shuttle bus system, a road system in dire need of repair, improved water and sewage systems and an upgraded ranger-led nature program. We are told that the $178 million dollars in flood damage will be addressed specifically with flood recovery legislation in Washington.

Golden Age passes for senior citizens will stay at their present $10 a year for admission to all national parks.

Previously, nearly all of the approximately $80 million collected annually in entrance fees was returned to the U.S. Treasury's General Fund. This new 3-year pilot program will allow Yosemite and other participating national parks and forests to keep 80% of the additional funds raised.

$20 a carload to visit Yosemite? Proponents point out that a family of 4 would pay at least $24 to see a first run movie...without the cokes & popcorn. Opponents point out that the quadrupled entrance fee could well cut off this magnificent wonderland to a sizable portion of the public.

What do you think? Are Yosemite's entrance fees at $20 per car too high? Would $10 have been more reasonable? Should they be rolled back to $5?

We invite your feedback to this issue: Would you please e-mail us at this special address? We'll forward responses to politicos, park officialdom, the media and post the results right here on the internet's #1 resource for information on Yosemite and the surrounding Gold Country. Stay tuned.