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Veterans Day expected to bring in large crowds, despite economy 

MUIR WOODS NATIONAL MONUMENT — The National Park Service says it’s ready for a surge of visitors this holiday weekend after offering free admission to promote “unity, hope and healing.” 

“This is not about money,” Park Service spokesman David Barna said Friday. “It’s not significant enough compared to the significance of helping this country heal. We all have families. We’re all in this together. We’re not counting dollars this weekend.” 

The parks’ already overburdened resources have been stretched even further since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Hundreds of federal rangers have been reassigned to security details, and many state parks have been even harder pressed as local law enforcement chases down anthrax scares. 

But the suspension of entrance fees during the Nov. 10-12 Veterans Day weekend — announced by Interior Secretary Gale Norton as a way of encouraging travel — should provide an economic boost, especially to businesses in and around parks. 

State parks in California and at least 25 other states also waived admission fees, and are bracing for crowds. 

“There are certain parks where people will flock to if the fees are dropped,” said Roy Stearns, the state’s deputy parks director, citing Mount Tamalpais and coastal parks along San Francisco Bay. 

Not all parks have seen higher attendance since Sept. 11. Tourism has been hurt at places like the Grand Canyon and the Muir Woods, which depend to a large extent on air travel and foreign visitors. Fully 78 percent of the 1.8 million people a year who visit the redwood cathedrals in a hidden valley just 45 minutes north of San Francisco are visiting from outside the Bay Area, and 22 percent are foreign tourists, the park said. 

John and Betty Parker of Concord brought their nieces, who are visiting from Canton, Ohio, to the park on Friday. The family stopped to chat on a paved path underneath the towering giants. 

With many tourists suffering from post-attack jitters, Parker said all the popular spots have seemed less busy than usual. 

“We walked across the Golden Gate Bridge on Wednesday and no one was there,” he said. “This is a perfect time for people to get out.” 

B.J. Ray, his wife, Rainey, and their two friends decided to take advantage of low airfares and celebrate their wedding anniversaries with a trip to San Francisco. 

“There’s definitely been a mentality that we’re not going to live in fear,” Ray said, adding that they paid $178 roundtrip from Dallas. 

In general, parks near big cities have experienced an average 15 percent increase, Barna said. 

At Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, about two hours southwest of Washington, attendance jumped 39 percent in September alone. Attendance at Yosemite National Park, near the California-Nevada border, went up about 10 percent, Barna said. 

“People are going back to the parks to get away from the news,” Barna said. “They are those special places we set aside for solace for reflection.” 

National parks expect to break even this weekend, reasoning that the money visitors don’t spend on entrance fees likely will be spent at concession stands, gift shops and visitor’s centers. 

California’s parks will lose less than $100,000 in revenue, Stearns said. 

“When you think of the honor we can pay to veterans, I think that far outweighs the money loss,” Stearns said. “We may take a little hit, but I think the communities around those parks will feel the benefits.” 

About a third of the nation’s parks charge admission fees, adding up to $145 million a year. Since 1996, that money has gone directly back into the park system for much-needed maintenance and repairs, Barna said. 

There currently is a $4.9 billion maintenance backlog, which President Bush has proposed to eliminate in five years with additional funding. 

Annually, the service spends $2.5 billion on 385 parks, which, last year, saw 287 million visitors. 

Since Sept. 11, about 200 park employees have been reassigned to homeland security. Park rangers are patrolling dams in the West, parks near the Canadian and Mexican borders and major monuments in the Washington D.C. area. A handful also are getting sky marshal training, Barna said. 

The service’s 200 seasonal law enforcement employees, who work primarily during the summer, have been asked back to the parks to help compensate for the loss.