Plenty of reaction for 71 percent hike in fees at Glacier Park

The Kalispell Chamber of Commerce has asked the National Park Service to reconsider some of its proposed fee increases for Glacier National Park.

The Chamber’s main concern is the proposed 71 percent fee increase — from $35 to $60 — for Glacier’s annual pass.

The seven-day Glacier pass, meanwhile, would increase just 20 percent in the summer, from $25 to $30.

“This fee structure puts an unfair and disproportionate burden on Flathead Valley and Montana residents,” the Chamber said in its comments to the park. “Montana resident visitation to the park has trended around 14 percent of a total visitation. Many in this group favor an annual pass.”

The Chamber favors increasing the annual pass by a percentage similar to the seven-day pass. That strategy, it maintains, will not overly penalize locals but will still give the Park Service the revenue increase it seeks.

“A strategy that increases the entrance fee for the seven-day pass slightly higher than proposed, and which is preferred by 86 percent of the visitors, will give the park the financial outcomes it seeks without a drastic increase to the price of an annual pass. It [also] has the added benefit of mitigating the risk of losing park attendance from annual pass purchasers who may be unable to afford such a large increase and who are more likely to use the park during off-peak seasons,” the Chamber said.

The letter represents about 650 businesses across the valley and is signed by Chamber President and Chief Executive Officer Joe Unterreiner.

Park spokeswoman Denise Germann said the park has received about 300 comments on the proposed fee increase and most have centered on the increase in the annual pass.

She said people value the park but they have expressed concern about the jump in price.

The fee increase would bring Glacier in line with other parks.

Other parks, including Yellowstone National Park, also are proposing fee increases. Yellowstone’s current annual pass costs $50. It’s proposing raising its annual pass to $60. But it’s also proposing a seven-day pass for Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks for $50 and a three-day pass to Yellowstone only for $30.

If a person visits both Yellowstone and Glacier frequently, the best bargain could turn out to be the Interagency Pass — which gives a person entrance to all national parks and other places such as battlefields and monuments — for $80 annually. That’s the one pass that won’t be increased.

Germann said the idea is to have the fee increases set by 2017 and they could be phased in, but the increases aren’t set in stone.

“It really does matter what constituents think,” she said. 

The public comment period on the fee increases ended Friday.