Editorial: Taking a pass on praise

Friday, Nov. 4, 2005 | 9 a.m.

A new national pass for parks, monuments and other federal recreation lands that is set to go on sale in 2007 sounds a lot like the old national pass for such areas.

The America the Beautiful Pass for national parks and federal recreation lands was created under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, a measure that was tucked into the 3,000-page Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2005 that President Bush signed in December.

The law abolished the 40-year-old Golden Passport program, which was administered by the U.S. Forest Service. It sold national passes under the names Golden Eagle, Golden Age and Golden Access. The new law also eliminates the $50 annual National Parks Pass, which the Park Service created in 2000 to funnel money into parks facing staggering maintenance backlogs.

The America the Beautiful Pass, like its Golden Eagle predecessor, will allow entry into any federally managed park, forest, monument or recreation area that charges a gate fee. And, as with the Golden Eagle, at least 80 percent of the fee paid will be used for improvements at the site of purchase.

It seems the America the Beautiful ticket could be less confusing and give public lands a much-needed financial boost. But we are skeptical.

As with any government program, the devil's in the details. Federal officials haven't decided how to distribute the unused portion of fees -- such as whether to invest the money in sites that receive fewer visitors and fees. And they haven't determined how much the new pass will cost.

Bush administration cuts in park budgets and manpower over the past four years have exacerbated the maintenance backlog. Bush's promise in 2000 to "eliminate" the backlog by spending $4.9 billion on overdue maintenance by 2006 has amounted to only about $600 million in new funding.

Visitors lay a heavy burden on public land. Lake Mead National Recreation Area, the Park Service's fifth most-visited site, attracted 7.7 million people last year.

But federal park managers and staff have been warned not to speak of the problems. In 2003 the Park Service police chief was relieved of her post when she told The Washington Post about cuts that had left the parks inadequately protected.

And an internal National Park Service memo from February 2004, obtained and released to the public by the Coalition of Concerned National Park Service Retirees, advised park managers to make as many cuts as possible that "won't cause public or political controversy." If asked by the public, managers were "not to directly indicate" services had been cut.

On its face, the America the Beautiful Pass shows promise. But experience has shown that, when it comes to our national parks, Bush administration promises aren't always what they seem.