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   From: invalid@nopemail.com   
      
   For the first time in nearly two decades, Yosemite National Park   
   is poised to bump up entrance fees for visitors.   
      
   Park administrators are looking to increase the cost of driving   
   into the park from $20 to $30 per vehicle — good for a seven-day   
   visit — and increase the price of an annual pass from $40 to $60.   
      
   The rate hikes, a way to offset rising park maintenance costs,   
   would take effect next year. The additional revenue would fund   
   such outlays as remodeled visitor-service buildings, expanded   
   public transportation and rehab projects in the wild.   
      
   The National Park Service began taking public comment on the   
   proposed fee increase Monday and will continue to take input   
   through Nov. 20. The comments will be considered before a final   
   decision is made on new rates.   
      
   Under the proposal, the cost of admission for a hiker or   
   bicyclist would also increase from $10 to $15 and, for a   
   motorcyclist, from $10 to $25.   
      
   Park administrators are considering raising camping fees, too.   
   Current rates, which have been in place since 2006, range from   
   $5 to $20 a night for family sites and $40 for group sites. The   
   proposed hike would increase rates to between $6 and $24 per   
   night for family sites and to $48 for group sites.   
      
   The last time entrance fees went up in Yosemite was 1997, when   
   they jumped from $5 to $20 per vehicle.   
      
   Feedback on the proposal is being accepted via email at   
   yose_planning@nps.gov or by mail. Write to: Superintendent,   
   Attention: Proposed Fee Increase, P.O. Box 577, Yosemite, CA   
   95389.   
      
   Kurtis Alexander is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-   
   mail: kalexander@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kurtisalexander   
      
   http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Yosemite-entrance-fees-to-   
   jump-50-5835132.php   
      
         
      
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