In the lead-up to the centennial of the National Park Service, the federal lands agencies and the White House have teamed up to offer every fourth-grader in the nation, plus that child’s family and any other child who fits in the car, a year of free access to federal public lands and waters.
What a great idea!
The “Every Kid in a Park” initiative touches many bases. Few people who have chosen to live in Southwest Colorado would disagree that children should spend more time outdoors than many of them do. More than 80 percent of this nation’s children live in urban areas. Seeing another aspect of the country, and perhaps seeing it as it was before the urbanization of America, provides perspective that is hard to gain without actually going to those places.
National parks provide unparalleled learning experiences. With this pass, fourth-graders and their families can gain admission not only to Mesa Verde National Park (which is an experience every local student should have more than once) but to national forests and seashores, national battlefields, cultural and historical parks and monuments, and a multitude of other public places that every student benefits from visiting.
This is the federal government behaving like the private sector. “Every Kid in a Park” mirrors a long-time strategy of ski resorts: Involve young people and they are likely to stay involved, and to be willing to pay more for the privilege as they grow older because they value the experience. The expense to the government comes mostly in foregone revenue, which is partly thin air, because many of the families who will take advantage of this pass might not otherwise visit such places. We suspect that many of the families who have been buying annual passes will go right on buying them, because they understand the value of America’s public lands. The pass will help more people to perceive that value.
Admission to national parks is growing increasingly expensive because Congress no longer supports its land and cultural resources as it once did. Admission to Mesa Verde right now is $10 per family (or car); in the summer, that goes up to $15 – still not as much as the cost to take the same family to the movies, but not inconsequential either. The price to drive through Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, with the opportunity to see bears, bison and geysers, is $50 per car – not much compared to the cost of getting there, and certainly small compared to the value received, but not small change. Everyone has a park not too far from home, and each one is well worth visiting. The pass is good through Aug. 31, 2016, so there is time to plan a Christmas trip, some spring break travel, or a summer vacation – or all of the above.
All fourth-graders or their parents or teachers have to do is log on to everykidinapark.gov. We hope every family takes advantage of the opportunity, because this is entirely a good thing, benefitting both Americans and their parks.
Kids who visit national parks simply have a broader view of the world. Every kid needs that.