Public Land Is Dying by a Thousand Fees

National parks and state forests were once for everyone. Now they’re becoming luxury goods — by design.

In the past few weeks, two major proposals — one federal and one state‑level — have made a grim fact impossible to ignore: access to America’s wild lands is being turned into a luxury good. On the federal side, the National Park Service (NPS) has announced that, beginning January 1, 2026, non‑U.S. residents will be charged $250 for an annual “America th…