Privatizing U.S. Park Campgrounds A Good Idea?

Above, a Yosemite sign modified after the Delaware North fiasco. Curry Village was
renamed Half Dome Village due to the trademark lawsuit. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

A proposal by Dept. of Interior Secetary Ryan Zinke has some people up in arms.

According to The Santa Fe New Mexican:

U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke says government shouldn’t be in the business of running campgrounds, so he wants to turn national park campsites over to private businesses. 

A handful of companies already run campsites, lodging and concessions throughout the U.S. park system, but some fear widespread privatization could make recreation and camping prohibitively expensive in Western states.

I have mixed feelings about this. Private enterprise can run campgrounds more efficiently than government. But as some fear, the cost to camp could become more expensive. What will happen to the first-come, first-serve campgrounds? Will those be converted to a private reservation system?

As the article states, some campgrounds are already operated by some companies. That seems to be working out okay (at least I haven't heard any complaints). An expansion of this can work to everyone's satisfaction as long as some parameters are set beforehand. Also, the government needs to avoid a fiasco like the Delaware North trademark lawsuit in such a proposal.

We'll have to take a closer look at the finalized proposal before passing judgment. Right now, it is just in the talking stage.

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