Tourism brought in through national parks is the bread and butter for small towns in close proximity to those national parks. The money brought in by many if not all national parks by way of entrance fees is sufficient to more than offset the costs associated with maintaining the national park making the parks a sustainable source of income for the governing entity. National parks were recently closed for the duration of the government shutdown in 2013. This shows that the federal government views these resources as unnecessary moneypits. It is therefore prudent to re classify any national park that does not cross state lines as a state park, and give the presiding state both the revenue and responisibility to maintain it.



