<font color='black' size='2' face='arial'> <div><font style="background-color: transparent;">In 1996, the government allowed to Yellowstone and Grand to keep 80% of the revenue, "above an beyond" what was brought in in 1996.  I don't remember what the figure was in 1996, but the amount collected in 1996 is the amount the park has to pay the general fund, before YELL & GRTE can start keeping 80%.  This is still the case.  My point is if all of the national parks were to keep all of the money they brought in, instead of paying the 1996 income first, we wouldn't need to raise rates & parks wouldn't be so underfunded.  Look into it, YELL &GRTE still pay the 1996 income, before they can keep 80% of the gate fees.  I was not stating there is a cap at 80 million, I was using 80 million as an estimate of how much money is actually brought in at the gate at $25 per car and $300 per bus.  I'm trying to point out that the parks bring in a lot of money before they are allowed to keep any.  You could possibly find out the formula at the VSO office.  But if you think about it, the parks say they will have about 3 million with the gate increase, realistically, 3 million is a lot less than 80% of the gate fees.</font></div> <div> </div> <div>Jim</div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div style="color: black; font-family: arial,helvetica; font-size: 10pt;">-----Original Message-----<br> From: David Prast <davidjprast@gmail.com><br> To: Geyser Observation Reports <geysers@lists.wallawalla.edu><br> Sent: Fri, Nov 28, 2014 9:48 pm<br> Subject: Re: [Geysers] Entrance and Backcountry Fee<br> <br> <div id="AOLMsgPart_2_2305fec2-5344-4edb-ab4c-dce7c01be95f"> <div dir="ltr"> <div> <div> <div>Jim,<br> <br> </div> You stated, "and then they get to keep 80 million". Did you mean <u>up to</u> 80 million? Are you stating collection of revenue is capped at 80 million? Later in your posting you referred to a 20 million dollar split between Yellowstone and Grand Tetons. What is the source of that 20 million dollar figure? I'm a little confused.<br> <br> </div> It seems the funding stream is somewhat complicated based on a number of variables. How have you come to learn about the funding mechanism? Do you know where I could find the actual formula? <br> <br> </div> David Prast<br> <div><br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> </div> </div> <div class="gmail_extra"><br> <div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Nov 26, 2014 at 6:38 AM, <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:seeyellowstone@aol.com">seeyellowstone@aol.com</a>></span> wrote:<br> <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex; border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-width: 1px; border-left-style: solid;"><font color="black" face="arial"> <div><font style="background-color: transparent;">I'm wondering why no one is complaining about winter use in Yellowstone.  This has truly become for the elite.  It's not possible for a family of 4 to go to Old Faithful in the winter under $400 for the day.  By the way the park does not get to keep 80% of the revenue until they paid Congress the amount the park brought in back in 1996, the park has to pay that first, then they get to keep 80 million.  For example, our of the 3.5 million visitors that came in last year, let's say there were 1 million vehicles (it seemed like it some days), at $25 per car load, that would be $25 million.  The park even advertises that they get to split 2.5 million last year though this program (no where near 20 million), if Congress would keep their hands out of the pot in the first place, Yellowstone and Grand Teton would be splitting over 20 million, and all national parks would be self sustaining, likely without a fee increase.</font></div> <div> </div> <div>Jim Holstein</div> <div> <div class="h5"> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div style="color: black; font-family: arial,helvetica; font-size: 10pt;">-----Original Message-----<br> From: Karen Webb <<a href="mailto:caros@xmission.com">caros@xmission.com</a>><br> To: Geyser Observation Reports <<a href="mailto:geysers@lists.wallawalla.edu">geysers@lists.wallawalla.edu</a>><br> Sent: Tue, Nov 25, 2014 5:50 pm<br> Subject: Re: [Geysers] Entrance and Backcountry Fee<br> <br> <div> <div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000"> <font size="-1"><font face="Comic Sans MS">Can I just point out that, in the case of FPP, the parking lot used to extend to the north and have the decent, airier, I-have-not-just-been-dropped-into-an-oubliette sort of latrine. If an environmental impact statement was the cause of either the shrinkage of the parking lot or the placement of these blots on the name of humanity, I was not aware of it (although that can be said of other things).<br> Karen Webb<br> <br> </font></font> <div>On 11/24/2014 1:35 AM, <a href="mailto:michellechristine08@gmail.com">michellechristine08@gmail.com</a> wrote:<br> </div> <blockquote type="cite"> <div>There is not an exact plan yet for where the extra revenue will go, but they hope to use a portion of it for gill netting in Yellowstone Lake as well as setting some aside for a rehabilitation fund.</div> <div><br> </div> <div>Also, just a note on the parking areas at FPP and Midway. The reason that those parking </div> <div>lots are not expanded has nothing to do with funding. Therefore, you should not expect that to be in the plans for extra revenue. Expanding parking areas in protected areas like our national parks is pretty complicated, involving environmental impact statements and other plans that take years to complete. In Yellowstone, you also have to take into account the thermal areas that lie close to those parking lots. If those parking area were being built today, they would never be where they are. They are already too close to thermal areas, so expanding them is out of the question. It stinks, but it is true.</div> <div><br> </div> <div>As far as the entrance fee increase goes, the fact is that our national parks need more money. Thankfully, Yellowstone was not impacted too much by the sequester a couple years back (because it is such a popular and large park) but visitor centers all over the nation were closed and important jobs cut. Unless parks get more money, actions like that will become much more common. As was stated earlier, short of changes in federal government funding, there really aren't a lot of other ways to get that extra money. They have to do what they have to do.</div> <div><br> </div> <div>For those that are interested, there are days that the national parks allow free entrance. For those that truly cannot afford the entrance fee, I am sure they can plan their trips to coincide with those days, especially if they live within short driving distance. The NPS advertises those days on their website.</div> <div><br> </div> <div>Michelle Eide</div> <div><br> On Nov 23, 2014, at 6:38 PM, David Prast <<a href="mailto:davidjprast@gmail.com">davidjprast@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br> <br> </div> <blockquote type="cite"> <div> <div dir="ltr"> <div>Having reviewed the minutes if the meeting that were provided, I noticed there was no mention of the the specific use of the additional revenue. It would seem there is no interest in a shuttle system (thank goodness) and the no interest in expanded parking at Fountain Paint Pots even though the number of automobile parking spaces was reduced during the last parking lot project.  So....what is the "plan" for the additional revenue? Is there a specific designated project for the additional revenue? <br> <br> </div> <div>Just wondering,<br> </div> <div><br> </div> David Prast<br> </div> <div class="gmail_extra"><br> <div class="gmail_quote">On Sat, Nov 22, 2014 at 12:05 PM, <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:mmjustus@mmjustus.com">mmjustus@mmjustus.com</a>></span> wrote:<br> <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex; border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-width: 1px; border-left-style: solid;"> <div lang="EN-US" dir="ltr" link="blue" vlink="purple"> <div dir="ltr"> <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 128); font-family:;"> <div><font size="4">I disagree wholeheartedly with this, especially for people who live within a reasonably short drive (say within a tank of gas) and make trips to the park on a shoestring.  Or who have to save pennies to make trips to the national parks.  Every dollar counts.  This is how I visit national parks, and I will tell you that yes, doubling the entrance fee would make a huge difference to people like me.  And there are a lot more of us than those making this argument seem to think there are.</font></div> <div> </div> <div><font size="4">Meg Justus</font></div> <span> <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family:;"> <div style="font: 10pt/normal tahoma; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> <div> </div> </div> <div> </div> </div> <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family:;"> <div> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125); font-family:;">I agree with Ben.  The cost is a real bargain—Disneyland and Disney World charge $100 per day.  It seems to me highly unlikely that the small rise in entrance fee would prevent any but the most casual potential visitor from coming, considering the cost of travel and other expenses.</span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125); font-family:;"></span> </div> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125); font-family:;">Ralph Taylor</span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125); font-family:;"></span> </div> </div> </div> </span></div> </div> </div> <br> _______________________________________________<br> Geysers mailing list<br> <a href="mailto:Geysers@lists.wallawalla.edu">Geysers@lists.wallawalla.edu</a><br> <a href="https://lists.wallawalla.edu/mailman/listinfo/geysers" target="_blank">https://lists.wallawalla.edu/mailman/listinfo/geysers</a><br> </blockquote> </div> <br> </div> </div> </blockquote> <blockquote type="cite"> <div><span>_______________________________________________</span><br> <span>Geysers mailing list</span><br> <span><a href="mailto:Geysers@lists.wallawalla.edu">Geysers@lists.wallawalla.edu</a></span><br> <span><a href="https://lists.wallawalla.edu/mailman/listinfo/geysers" target="_blank">https://lists.wallawalla.edu/mailman/listinfo/geysers</a></span></div> </blockquote> <br> <fieldset></fieldset> <br> <pre>_______________________________________________ Geysers mailing list <a href="mailto:Geysers@lists.wallawalla.edu">Geysers@lists.wallawalla.edu</a> <a href="https://lists.wallawalla.edu/mailman/listinfo/geysers" target="_blank">https://lists.wallawalla.edu/mailman/listinfo/geysers</a></pre> </blockquote> <br> <br> <br> <hr style="border: currentColor; width: 99%; color: rgb(144, 144, 144); min-height: 1px; background-color: rgb(176, 176, 176);"> <table style="border: currentColor; border-collapse: collapse;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="padding: 0px 15px 0px 8px; border: currentColor;"> <a href="http://www.avast.com/" target="_blank"> <img src="http://static.avast.com/emails/avast-mail-stamp.png" border="0"> </a> </td> <td> <div> This email is free from viruses and malware because <a href="http://www.avast.com/" target="_blank">avast! 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