# What percentage of national park funding comes from Congress? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 6, 2019, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-national-park-funding-comes-from-congress/827298 "2019-01-06T16:14:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2019, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-national-park-funding-comes-from-congress/827298/1 "2019-01-06T16:14:57Z")
National parks have other ways to get money, including admission fees, bookstores, concessions, and private donations. How much of their budget comes from tax dollars? Are any parks self-sufficient? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2019, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-national-park-funding-comes-from-congress/827298/2 "2019-01-06T16:24:48Z")
> **[National Park Service: Revenues from Fees and Donations Increased, but Some...](https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-16-166)** > > What GAO Found The National Park Service's (Park Service) total funding did not keep pace with inflation for fiscal years 2005 through 2014, even as... > [@](#): > > Revenues from fees and donations grew for fiscal years 2005 through 2014 to varying degrees. Specifically, revenues from recreation fees, which include entrance and amenity fees for facilities such as campsites, increased from about $148 million to $186 million (26 percent). Revenues from fees from concessions operations, which comprise the vast majority of commercial service fees, nearly tripled from almost $29 million to $85 million. Meanwhile, cash donations from philanthropic sources fluctuated, ranging from $19.5 million in fiscal year 2011 to $94.7 million in fiscal year 2014. The NPS budget is around $3 billion/year, with a backlog of about $12 billion of deferred maintenance. So, it’s around 25% of the income for the parks in general. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2019, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-national-park-funding-comes-from-congress/827298/3 "2019-01-06T19:36:55Z")
Bear in mind that the NPS has other sources of revenue than Congressional appropriations, those other revenue streams must go thru a government process. With that process also shut down, the NPS cannot access those other revenue streams. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2019, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-national-park-funding-comes-from-congress/827298/4 "2019-01-06T19:56:26Z")
It should be pointed out that the United States National Park System (and National Forests, National Monuments, National Seashores and Marine Presevea, National Waterways, National Resource Areas, et cetera) are major draws for both foreign and domestic tourism. So the economic benefits realized are far beyond admission fees and concessions, and manifestly benefit local economies and state revenues. For instance, Utah’s “Big Five” National Parks (Zion, Bryce Canyon, Arches, Canyonlands and Capitol Reef) [generated nearly US$8B in revenues in 2014](https://www.deseretnews.com/article/865654982/Report-Tourism-spending-in-Utah-grew-to-nearly-8-billion.html) in a state with very little heavy industry and only a variable winter sports industry, and which has a robust but modest agricultural industry. This translates to about US$1B in state sales taxes as well as state and federal income tax from jobs and entrepreneurial business generated through tourism revenues that would be othherwise non-existent. The costs of the NPS is a pittance compared to the overall economic benefit, not to mention the preservation and management of often delicate wilderness and areas of natural beauty for future generations. It makes zero sense to starve the NPS (and US Forest Service, and other agencies responsible for preserving and managing federal lands and waters) to save a paltry sum that is far less than the amount of money that disappears into DoD coffers without any accountability or apparent benefit of any kind beyond corporate welfare. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2019, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-national-park-funding-comes-from-congress/827298/5 "2019-01-06T20:07:12Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > It should be pointed out… Surely the question is not about whether public funding is a good idea. It’s about why/whether the Parks need to close in a shutdown. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2019, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-national-park-funding-comes-from-congress/827298/6 "2019-01-06T20:53:11Z")
> [@](#): > > It should be pointed out that the United States National Park System (and National Forests, National Monuments, National Seashores and Marine Presevea, National Waterways, National Resource Areas, et cetera) are major draws for both foreign and domestic tourism. National Forests are not part of the national park system. National monuments are administered by several agencies, in addition to the NPS. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-national-park-funding-comes-from-congress/827298/7 "2019-01-07T00:02:01Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > National Forests are not part of the national park system. National monuments are administered by several agencies, in addition to the NPS. Nowhere in my post did I indicate that to be the case. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-national-park-funding-comes-from-congress/827298/8 "2019-01-07T00:43:52Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > [National Park Service: Revenues from Fees and Donations Increased, but Some Enhancements Are Needed to Continue This Trend | U.S. GAO](https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-16-166) > > The NPS budget is around $3 billion/year, with a backlog of about $12 billion of deferred maintenance. So, it’s around 25% of the income for the parks in general. I’m not seeing where the 25% comes from. The three sources of revenue in that quote add up to about $366 million. That’s around 12% of $3 billion, not 25%. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2019, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-percentage-of-national-park-funding-comes-from-congress/827298/9 "2019-01-07T01:15:36Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > I’m not seeing where the 25% comes from. The three sources of revenue in that quote add up to about $366 million. That’s around 12% of $3 billion, not 25%. You’re correct, I was using a smaller number for the budget by accident.