And now I would like to turn it back over to Superintendent Cassius Cash. The issue again is that, you know, if we get a slight bump and our appropriated dollars, while we average a 3 percent inflation rate, right, if you will, just a cost of doing business, which averages in at around $300-some-thousand dollars. 2023 Fees - Great Smoky Mountains National Park (U.S. National Park I do want to underscore that there are other divisions here that serve a critical purpose in making sure that this park stays intact. Obtaining a backcountry camping permit does not exempt you from the parking tag requirement. The average parking rate in gateway communities where parking fees are charged is $15 per day and $68 per month. And an annual tag really targeted for our local residents at $40, who we know are going to come multiple times a year and we want to make it more convenient. And third, which is part of the Park Service mission, is to ensure that we keep these cultural resources, these natural resources, administrative buildings intact so that the young people that are enjoying this park today, when they bring their kids back, that it will still be there for them the way that we are enjoying it today. The tags will not be capped, they won't be limited to try to limit visitation. Regardless of when and where you're camping, reservations are required and can be . You know, we have a unique relationship with federally recognized tribes. We will continue to get congressionally appropriated dollars. One of the things that my staff and I decided that if this proposal goes forward, we want to make sure that we get it right. Two campgrounds, Cades Cove and Smokey Point, are operational throughout the year. Background Over the past decade, Smokies visitation has skyrocketed by 57%. The good news is that we have a solution. Parking would just continue to be available on a first come first serve basis. Check the chart below for operation schedules. A collection of resources for planning a safe, healthy, and responsible experience on the Appalachian Trail. And Im thankful for the sacrifice it took to create this park nearly 90 years ago. And another way that I look at it too, you know, some people will say, Well, what happens if I don't, you know, have a parking tag? or whatever. So, the obvious situation is for park employees, and our park partners like the Great Smoky Mountains Association, who have employees that operate our visitor centers across the park. Great Smoky Mountains Backcountry Permits But I do want to let you know that we have a robust FAQ section on our website. - 5 - Page - 5 - of 16 (Dana Soehn, continues 14:20) So why can't we charge an entrance fee if there aren't any agreements? New funding sources are needed to rehabilitate this national treasure and preserve the magic of the Smokies for future generations. Over the past decade, Smokies visitation has skyrocketed by 57%. That's our goal. This is a real opportunity for each person who visits and uses the park to contribute towards its upkeep. We've chased grant monies. And with 14.1 million visits, our staff are strained to provide this care. Official rules and regulations are set by land-managing agencies; however, the A.T. is managed through a cooperative management system, with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) as the lead coordinating partner working with APPA, 87 land-managing agency partners, and 31 local trail-maintaining clubs. And now that's not encouraging people to not buy tags. So, with the user fees, we provide seven-day coverage in our office to be able to provide really critical trip planning advice. And through collaboration with local communities, if we feel there is one or two, maybe more that we need to happen in this park. Round Trip from Milwaukee, WI to Gatlinburg, TN. One thing I will mention in regards to the descendants that there's questions, I know I've personally received questions about, Would we need a parking tag to go to do Decoration Days or family reunions? And I just want to share the sentence in particular that we will continue to utilize our special use permit, which allows for descendants to have decoration days and family reunions at no cost. This decision comes in conjunction with GSMNP's new Park it Forward initiative, which will introduce paid parking permits within America's most visited national park. TN Dana also mentioned that there are some parks that actually exercise both, the expanded amenity fee and the entrance fee. This change will take time. Because again, we feel that our visitors deserve just as much of a service as a visitor at Yosemite or Yellowstone or Glacier, and the list goes on. It's just exercising what's already under the law. Spaces at Cades Cove, Elkmont, Cosby, Cataloochee and Smokemont may be reserved online at www.recreation.gov or by phone through the National Park Reservation Service at 1-877-444-6777. Featured here are selected hikes ranging in difficulty from the easy to the challenging-for the young to the elderly. And exemptions also for volunteers who are doing work under our volunteer agreement. Congress passed this law, particularly because they understood that the appropriated dollars that we get on an annual basis could not cover all of our associated costs with providing services to the millions of visitors that we get on an annual basis. Just recognizing that growing awareness will take months, maybe years, as we grow this program. Several hundred miles of the A.T. (and the surrounding corridor of land) in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine are located on APPA lands. And we're very, very proud of that. And I'm very invested in this community. Great Smoky Mountains National Park 127-Mile Loop - Backpacking Routes The Great Smoky Mountains 127-Mile Loop is a challenging route in the Smoky Mountains National Park that can be completed in 8-10 days. In regards to tribal citizens, particularly the Eastern Band of the Cherokee. And we've seen steady use since then. And so, we're trying to make decisions now to ensure that the protection and the preservation of this park is the way we found it if not better. With Park it Forward, we will accomplish these important goals. And that's important because when we implemented this fee, we had a lot of people that thought that use would decline. The parking tag is per vehicle, not per person. 41:44 Kendra Straub Thank you. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Tennessee/North Carolina), Pennsylvania Game Commission (Pennsylvania), Green & White Mountain National Forests (Vermont & New Hampshire). And that's something that we've heard again and again from our visitors is they want to see more Rangers out in the field, helping them where they are. We would not limit the tag sales to limit or cap visitation in the park. Camping and fire regulations along the A.T. have been compiled in our A.T. 50:37 Kendra Straub Thank you. And how many visitors do we think again, based on their visitor patterns over the last several years, would want that up to seven-day tag, and then the annual tag. The tags will not be tied to a reservation across the park. And like most descendants, the descendant family that I married into 31 years ago from the Sugarlands and Elkmont areas of the park, we've long heard the story about the promise of free access that was given because of the descendants selling their lands for the creation of this great park. And I want to thank each of you for, again, giving us your time for this hour to talk about a proposal that we're excited about. - 4 - Page - 4 - of 16 (Dana Soehn, continues 10:25) And it's just simply not enough to support our current operations, or operations in any other national park. We've also had a number of questions about discounts related to residents of counties that border the park. This change won't happen overnight. Through the proposed Park It Forward program, we would charge a modest fee for parking under FLREA. Permits can be obtained at any visitor center, ranger station, or campground within the park. Regulations are set by each of the 87 different federal, state, or local land-managing agencies, whose land the Appalachian Trail passes through. In comparison, the average maximum permit for a seven-night permit per person is $54. And how does the park plan to eliminate it? You can continue to submit questions for the remainder of the meeting, and we will try to address as many as we can. And we're proposing to raise this rate to $8. We are looking, as I said, at those locations to see how we can accommodate access in a better, safer way. Horses are not allowed on the A.T., except for a few remote segments of the A.T. in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (click here for more information) and the C&O Towpath in Maryland. People clearly understood the business case for the needed revenue. Great Smoky Mountains National Park 127-Mile Loop To me, that equates to memories. And I want to talk to you this evening. This was not an easy, overnight decision. And that will require trip planning for people who want to go to one of the seven or so sites that are the most popular, busiest sites in the park where there just simply isn't enough parking to meet demand. But in the future, we also plan to eliminate the out of bounds roadside parking, to protect our resources, to improve the pedestrian and motorists safety, and to improve traffic flow through these congested areas. It gives millions of people relaxation, restoration, and inspiration. My name is Kendra Straub and I work here in the Smokies in the superintendent's office. These employees at the park bring it every day. Visitation takes a dip, the funds would appropriately decline. Our plan is to charge a modest fee for parking that will generate critical revenue to protect the Smokies. 71 White Mountain Drive Campton NH 03223 (603) 536-6100. Nearly 3,700 people, from all 50 states, sent their concerns, support, and ideas. One is that we have millions of new visitors that are coming to the park for the first time and discovering the new love for being out in the natural world. Great Smoky Mountains Backcountry Permits FOR FULL LIST OF CLOSURES/ADVISORIES visit: https://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/temproadclose.htm. So national parks get funding for operations in several different ways. And so it's imperative again, that we can increase our opportunities in the fee section of that the bar graph that Dana showed you earlier. And we are not proposing in the Smokies to charge a reservation fee. Beginning on March 1, 2023, Appalachian Trail thru-hikers will have to pay double to hike through Great Smoky Mountains National Park. But when it comes to these particular dollars, I want to focus on those. Gas & Tolls: $113.27. Guided hikes, overnight hikes, or other guided activities where participants are required to pay a fee may require a special use permit or commercial use authorization. Food storage regulations are in place and should be followed for your safety. We've also had a lot of operational questions and how the parking tag will be implemented. Over the last decade, the Smokies' budget has remained relatively flat, in spite of increasing visitation. - 1 - Page - 1 - of 16 Transcript of Park It Forward virtual public meeting Great Smoky Mountains National Park Thursday, April 14, 2022, 5:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m. EDT Video runtime: 57 minutes 45 seconds 00:00 Kendra Straub Good evening. And could tickets be written and how would the park enforce it? Mount Sterling Overnight Loop Trail - AllTrails PERMITS Permits are required for specific trail visitors in three areas of the A.T.: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina/Tennessee - for backcountry camping; fees required. Both in the 1800s when they were forcibly removed from their ancestral tribal lands, and then again, some of them at the time of the parks creation. But during a couple of months of the year at Big Creek, and then a couple of other months at Deep Creek. There is a fee of $4 per person, per night, with a maximum of $20 per person. You know, building awareness is one of the greatest tools we have to work towards compliance of something so new and a park that's nearly 90 years old. And I'm going to go ahead then and just dive in to start to that why now question. Based on that sensitivity, then those are conversations we can have with our local leaders here, if we feel that it's necessary. And then secondly, as I mentioned, that this would not be a socio-economic barrier for folks that want to continue to enjoy the national park. Frontcountry campers may choose from 10 car-accessible campgrounds (note that Look Rock Campground is currently closed) across both the North Carolina and Tennessee sides of the park. It's all a part of those implementation issues that - 15 - Page - 15 - of 16 (Dana Soehn, continues 52:08) we simply need to dive into and look a little bit closer at but those are some of the first thoughts that we've had as we look at that. Not in the enabling legislation for the park, not from President Roosevelt, not in hundreds of historical documents and deeds. The Cost of a Smokies Permit Is About to Double for Thru-Hikers And wow, you responded! These fees will directly support our campground operations and maintenance to again provide those high-quality visitor experiences that the public has come to expect. Great Smoky Mountains changes visitor fees in 2023 - Charlotte Observer Smoking is prohibited at all shelters on federal lands and many shelters on state lands. It's been 10 years since we increased the backcountry fees and six years since we increase the frontcountry fees. We have partnered with Mountaineers Books for the warehousing and distribution of Appalachian Trail Conservancy Publications. Great Smoky Mountains Backpacking Permits - Wildland Trekking Once set, would the price of the parking tags remain the same going forward? I just want to reiterate again that when we came up with these price points that we want to make sure that, one, those price points were as inclusive as possible.
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