H.R. 8603

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a pilot program for a Federal and State multi-entity pass accepted by one or more Federal land management agencies and one or more State land management agencies

STATEMENT OF FRANK W. LANDS, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, BEFORE THE HOUSE NATURAL RESOUCES SUBCOMMITTEE ON FEDERAL LANDS CONCERNING H.R. 8603, TO DIRECT THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR TO ESTABLISH A PILOT PROGRAM FOR A FEDERAL AND STATE MULTI-ENTITY PASS ACCEPTED BY ONE OR MORE FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCIES AND STATE LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCIES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

July 24, 2024

Chairman Tiffany, Ranking Member Neguse, and members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to present the Department of the Interior’s views on H.R 8603, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a pilot program for a Federal and state multi-entity pass accepted by one or more Federal land management agencies and one or more state land management agencies, and for other purposes.

The Department appreciates the intent of H.R. 8603 to offer a multi-entity park pass for visitors to Federal and state parks but has concerns with the legislation as introduced.

H.R. 8603 would direct the establishment of a pilot program in the Southeast Region of the National Park Service (NPS), which includes nine states and two territories, to test the viability of offering multi-entity park entrance passes. The pilot program would be for implementing a pass, through Federal-state agreements, that allows entry into parks and other outdoor recreation areas under the jurisdiction of one or more Federal land management agencies and one or more state land management agencies for a specified period, not to exceed 12 months. The agreements would provide for no net loss of revenue to the Federal government or the states. The pilot program would be required to be established within 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

The authority to enter into multi-entity pass agreements already exists through the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA) (Public Law 104-447). FLREA, enacted in 2004, authorizes the NPS, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Bureau of Reclamation to collect and retain revenue and requires that fee revenue be used to enhance the visitor experience. Over the years, the NPS has explored whether this authority could be used to boost visitation at some of our lesser-utilized parks. In evaluating this approach, the NPS has identified several barriers that have made multi-entity passes impractical to implement:

First, the six participating Federal land management agencies maintain eight different pass types that cover entrance fees and standard amenity (day-use) fees where these fees are charged. These passes include:

• The Annual Military Pass – for active-duty members of the armed forces, which is free;
• The Veterans Lifetime Pass – for honorably discharged members of the armed forces and Gold Star Family members, which is free;
• The Access Pass – for U.S. Citizens and permanent residents who have been medically determined to have a permanent disability, which is free;
• The Every Kid Outdoors Pass – for all 4th graders, which is free;
• The Volunteer Pass – for persons who have volunteered 250 hours of service for any of the six Federal agencies that are part of the Interagency Pass Program, which is free;
• The Senior Lifetime Pass and the Senior Annual Pass – for persons over the age of 62, which cost $80 and $20 respectively; and
• The America the Beautiful Interagency Pass – an annual pass available to anyone, which costs $80.

Additionally, children under the age of 16 are granted free access; there are multiple national fee- free days for everyone offered every year; and, the NPS offers a variety of site-specific passes, which are valid from one to seven days as well as site-specific annual passes which are all sold at various price points.

Harmonizing the multitude of Federal pass types and their complex eligibility rules with those offered by state governments would be enormously challenging. Even without combining Federal and state passes, the numerous Federal pass types are confusing to visitors, especially if they qualify for more than one pass type.

The creation of multi-entity passes would come with startup and ongoing support costs for marketing, design, and distribution of passes and the management of funds. Given those costs, it would be difficult to comply with the bill’s requirement for no net loss of revenue to the NPS or the state involved with the proposed multi-entity pass. Additionally, distributing agencies would need to maintain an accurate record of the number of passes sold and be able to meet the other party’s financial accounting standards. Lastly, simply selling the Federal interagency pass and a state’s pass at a combined price point would not likely drive additional sales.

The Department appreciates the no net loss of revenue language in H.R. 8603. The revenue from FLREA has become a critical source of funding for the NPS, generating nearly $360 million in annual revenue. These funds support a wide range of park operations, including visitor safety, facility operations and maintenance, and interpretation and education. By policy, the NPS requires that fee-collecting parks spend no less than 55% of their revenue on facility maintenance activities, which is critical for addressing our deferred maintenance backlog.

If the Committee decides to act on this legislation, we would like to work with the bill sponsor and the Committee on amendments that would align the bill’s language with laws already governing the fee collection and entrance pass program. We would also like to discuss whether the pilot program authorized by this bill could be tailored to meet more specific goals.

Chairman Tiffany, this concludes my statement. I would be pleased to answer any questions you or other members of the Subcommittee may have.