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Sierra Club Bulletin 



service in several of the National Parks was extended during the sum- 

 mer, and it shall be our policy to make still further additions to and im- 

 provements in this service. These free camps are specially cleared 

 areas, provided with water, and are located at convenient distances from 

 supplies of fuel. Where shelter for cars is needed, buildings for this 

 purpose are erected. Toilet facilities are provided, and the installation 

 of grates for cooking purposes is proceeding rapidly. . . . 



APPROPRIATIONS AND REVENUES 



It is unquestionably the policy of Congress to appropriate an amount 

 equal to the park revenues for park purposes in addition to funds for 

 new construction work and general maintenance of improvements. Un- 

 der ordinary circumstances, the park that is well developed will yield a 

 large revenue, but, on the other hand, a park that is not developed can 

 not possibly yield revenue of consequence. . . . 



The remarkable increase in National Park travel has naturally in- 

 creased park revenues materially. At this date it is too early to com- 

 pile the complete tables of revenues for this season, but we are already 

 aware of the fact that the parks will yield a larger revenue this year 

 than ever before. And the revenues will grow larger each year, even 

 though it may appear advisable later to revise some of the fee schedules 

 downward, thus reducing auto taxes and rates for service in the parks 

 affected. Each year several schedules require adjustment. I believe the 

 time will soon come when Yellowstone, Yosemite, Mount Rainier, Se- 

 quoia, and General Grant National Parks, and probably one or two more 

 members of the system will yield sufficient revenue to cover costs of ad- 

 ministration and maintenance of improvements. An appropriation for 

 extension of improvements and new construction work will be all that 

 these parks will require. There probably never will be a time when all 

 of the parks will not require appropriations over and above the revenues 

 for one purpose or another, and it would not be proper and just to re- 

 quire these great national playgrounds to yield sufficient revenue to cover 

 all the costs of operation, any more than it would be fair and reasonable 

 to expect Rock Creek Park, in Washington, to pay all costs of its oper- 

 ation as a public recreational area. It seems that the National Parks 

 and the Federal Government that controls them must jointly provide the 

 necessary funds for their administration, protection, and improvement 

 after the Federal Government has advanced their development to a point 

 where they can yield revenue without placing a burden upon the tourist. 

 . . . The appropriation for the current fiscal year for the park system 

 is $524,780; for the monuments, $5000. The revenues for the 1918 fiscal 

 year already reported are $132,675.87. A comparison of the appropria- 

 tions of the fiscal years 1917 and 1918 with those of preceding years will 

 indicate clearly that Congress is heartily in sympathy with the develop- 

 ment of tourist travel to the parks and is ready to cooperate by making 

 both the parks and the monuments fully accessible. The appropriations 

 that are now being made for many parks, however, are inadequate, and 



