As an economist who doesn't necessarily mind the outdoors (one definition of an environmental economist) I'm a bit horrified by this. As an economist first, I guess I can't argue against it too much:
With the summer tourist season now in full gear, officials at Yellowstone National Park expressed a growing sense of concern and agitation Monday about a competing 3,500-square-mile nature reserve that recently opened directly across the street from their own park.
According to its detractors, the newly built Yello-Stone Natural Park, draped in strings of multicolored pennant flags and identified by a flashy hand-painted sign, is blatantly attempting to capitalize on the older location's long-established reputation by offering similar flora, fauna, and geothermal features at a cut-rate price....
Already reeling from budget cuts, the National Park Service acknowledged its new competitor posed a grave threat. Yello-Stone's owners have reportedly installed dozens of modern high-flow geysers, conveniently situated their most impressive ravines just 40 feet from the parking lot, and offered enticing daily promotions, such as 'Pet a Bighorn Sheep Day' and geode giveaways for children under 12.
However, Yellowstone's corps of rangers has taken aim at some of the new park's most heavily advertised features, casting doubt on its claim of possessing the World's Largest Boulder and arguing that its so-called Tomb of Lewis and Clark was "not even close" to being historically accurate....
When contacted, Yello-Stone's principal owner Rick Zeller, whose park in Northern Arizona is credited with driving the Grand Canyon into bankruptcy in 2007, stated that he was simply exercising his right as an entrepreneur.
via www.theonion.com
On the other hand, I will be horrified if Yellowstone decides to raise entrance fees in order to avoid a drop in revenues. It won't work for the Yankees parking lot and it won't work here.
