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President Trump Issues Executive Order Codifying PERC’s Proposal to Increase International Visitor Fees for National Parks

[…] park usage and mirrors successful international visitation models, such as those used in Chile, Ecuador, and South Africa.  “If you can afford a flight from Beijing to Yellowstone, you can afford to pay to take care of the place you’re coming to see. Charging international visitors a little more to experience national parks, just […]

Published on: July 3, 2025

New Report: Yellowstone National Park Could Raise Millions Without Losing Visitors

BOZEMAN, Mont.—A new report released today by PERC—”The Economics of Awe: How Entry Fees Can Sustain Yellowstone National Park,”—reveals that modest increases in entry fees to Yellowstone National Park could generate tens of millions of dollars annually to sustain and protect America’s first national park, without significantly reducing visitation. As Yellowstone continues to experience […]

Published on: June 26, 2025

The Economics of Awe

Table of Contents DOWNLOAD THE REPORT Table of Contents DOWNLOAD THE REPORT Summary Yellowstone is more popular than ever, drawing over four million annual visitors. But the park’s aging infrastructure and strained services haven’t kept up. It now faces a $1.5 billion maintenance backlog, the largest in the National Park Service. To properly steward […]

Published on: June 26, 2025

Grizzly Bear Recovery Deserves to Be Recognized—and Rewarded

[…] of grizzly bears in the Northern Rockies stands as one of America’s greatest conservation success stories. Thanks to decades of collaborative efforts, the populations in the Greater Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide ecosystems have met—and in many cases exceeded—their recovery goals. Now it’s time for policy to catch up with progress. That’s why PERC, […]

Published on: May 21, 2025

Advancing the Invisible Revolution

[…] Pronghorn Herd. The ranch includes a grazing permit on the Shoshone National Forest, the epicenter of conflict surrounding grizzly bears and wolves. PERC is joining The Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Ricketts Conservation Foundation, and Beyond Yellowstone Living Lab to support the effort. Virtual Fence 101 Virtual fencing uses GPS-enabled collars and base stations or cell […]

Published on: May 13, 2025

How to Save Our National Parks

Crowds gather to view the Old Faithful Geyser in Yellowstone National Park. This article was originally published in the Wall Street Journal. Nothing quite symbolizes the America First vision like our national parks. The U.S. created the first national park in 1872. But today the park system needs an estimated $23 billion for overdue maintenance and […]

Published on: March 24, 2025

10 Ideas for the Interior Department

[…] Recent decisions by the Fish and Wildlife Service undermine this process, while provoking conflict and frustrating recovery. The service recently rejected petitions to delist grizzly bears around Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks on the grounds that those populations had recovered too much and had begun to naturally connect. Therefore, neither population qualified as a […]

Published on: March 21, 2025

When the Government Puts Wolves in Your Backyard

[…] various ski towns largely supported the reintroduction, while nearly all rural counties opposed it. The red wolf recovery program served as an early model to restore gray wolves to Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho in the 1990s. While the “wolf wars” in Western states have certainly brought and continue to bring their fair share of conflict, those reintroductions […]

Published on: March 17, 2025

PERC Statement on Grizzly Bear Listing Decision

[…] species listed despite having met the recovery targets for specific populations. In response, PERC shared the following statement: The science is clear: grizzly populations in the Greater Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide ecosystems have rebounded to healthy levels more than double their recovery target and should be delisted. Today’s decision penalizes conservation by holding […]

Published on: January 8, 2025