bestmattever

Ha! But if there are no visitors, then where will he get the picnic baskets?

I'm glad you brought this up - this is a huge point that's often forgotten. "Big deal, a park is closed, I wasn't going there anyway." Besides the sheer lack of empathy this shows for people who have spent lots of time and money planning their vacations, it also shows ignorance for how much money parks bring in to local economies. $30 billion and 250,000 jobs is nothing to sneeze at: "The national parks return more than $10 for every $1 the American taxpayer invests in the National Park Service."

If bears are using eBay, we've got more important things to worry about than them stealing picnic baskets.

Yes, many forget that the local communities' economies depend on these parks being open and functioning!

The parks definitely make money overall, but not for the park service - they generate income for the businesses and surrounding communities.

The little money we make on park entrance fees and campgrounds doesn't pay for the park itself.

It's this way by design, actually. Imagine the sorts of conflicts of interest there'd be if the park service had to both a) protect national parks and b) generate income? "I know it's really important to protect this beautiful view.... but wow, we could really afford some awesome visitor center exhibits if we built that gondola to the top of Half Dome."