Cover Page MENU     Contents     Preface     1908-1940     1947-1967     1968-1972      1973-1974     1975-1980     1981-1982     Conclusion     Research Note     Appendix		Visitor Fees in the National Park System: A Legislative and Administrative History IV. CONGRESS FUMBLES AND RECOVERS, 1973-1974 The Eagle's Wings Are Clipped With the camping charge imbroglio focusing the greatest attention on user fees in 1973-74, relatively little attention was paid to the simultaneous demise of the interagency entrance fee concept embodied in the Golden Eagle. Envisioned in the original Land and Water Conservation Fund Act to be levied by all recreation-providing Federal bureaus, entrance fees were limited in the 1972 amendment to units of the National Park System and national recreation areas under the Forest Service. In 1974 the Forest Service administratively discontinued the collection of entrance fees, leaving the Park Service as the sole bureau charging for entry to certain of its areas. The Golden Eagle Passport thus declined to a Park System permit only. [13] In contrast, the newer Golden Age Passport retained its interagency applicability. Although its free entry value was lost outside the Park System where entry fees were no longer charged, its 50 percent discount on user fees kept it good at all Federal areas with such fees. End of Chapter 4 13In 1968, 5,104,300 Golden Eagles had been sold. In 1976 sales numbered only 157,175. The major cause of the permit's decline was surely its reduced applicability, although the price increase from $7 to $10 and the free distribution of the Golden Age Passport for senior citizens (271,666 issued in 1976) undoubtedly had some slight effect.
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