America the Beautiful 2026 Annual Pass artwork features President Trump
January 7, 2026 - Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) has joined Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif) and three of their Senate Democratic colleagues in calling on Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum to pause the implementation of the Administration’s expensive new national park entry fees and annual passes for non-residents and international visitors, which took place on January 1.
In late November, the Department of the Interior announced a new fee structure for access to public lands. Beginning next year, the annual pass will cost $80 for U.S. citizens and residents and $250 for non-residents and international visitors, the first time the United States has required proof of residency to access public lands. Non-residents age 16 and up who don’t have an annual pass will be forced to pay a $100 per person fee to enter 11 of the country’s most visited national parks in addition to the standard entrance fee, including Grand Canyon National Park. The Grand Canyon’s South Rim receives an estimated 5 million visitors annually, with Las Vegas being a primary source due to its proximity.
“America’s national parks serve as destinations for visitors both domestically and internationally to experience our country’s natural beauty, cultural heritage, and history,” wrote the Senators. “While we understand that entrance and recreation fees are vital to enhancing the visitor experience, we want to ensure all feel welcome to enjoy all national treasures. Since these new fees are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026, we strongly believe these fees are being implemented too quickly, without public input, and will be a barrier for both residents and non-residents alike.”
“We request that you stop implementation of the new non-resident passes and fees until the public has an opportunity to weigh in, impacts to visitation are studied, and clarity on implementation is provided to Congress, NPS employees, and impacted stakeholders,” continued the Senators.
The National Park Service (NPS) is permitted to collect and retain entrance and recreation fees under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act. These fees play an important role in making sure America’s parks can provide a positive visitor experience for citizens and non-residents alike. However, the law requires the Secretary of the Interior to allow the public the chance to weigh in on the development of or changes to recreation fees, and it mandates advanced notice to impacted communities in local publications. The Senators criticized the Administration for failing to provide this legally required opportunity for public input.
Cortez Masto and her colleagues also warned that this plan would further strain the understaffed NPS workforce, as the Trump Administration has cut 24% of permanent NPS employees since January, including positions like fee collectors and information technology specialists. These staffing shortages will likely further compound entry delays, especially at the highly visited parks charging an extra $100 for non-residents and international visitors.
With overseas visitation to national parks already down over 3 percent (and down 25 percent for visitors from Canada), the Senators expressed concerns that these numbers could fall even further with the steep price of non-resident passes, which would hurt parks, gateway communities, the recreation industry, and the American economy.
The Senators also pushed for answers regarding how Park Service staff would implement this fee structure – including how the Park Service would identify who is subject to these new fees and how non-resident information would be collected or potentially stored – why public notice was not provided, and what analyses were done to understand impacts to visitation, to gateway communities, and to the recreation industry.
The full text of the letter is available here.
Senator Cortez Masto has consistently fought against Trump policies that drive down Nevada tourism, including outdoor recreation. Last month, she introduced legislation to restore Juneteenth and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as fee-free days for America’s National Parks. Cortez Masto successfully opposed House Republicans’ efforts to conduct a massive public land sell-off. She has fought to prevent the Trump Administration from resuming oil and gas drilling in the Ruby Mountains and from rolling back designations of National Monuments. Cortez Masto has also worked to preserve lake Tahoe for future generations to enjoy.
Source: Senator Catherine Cortez Masto
