AP: Park Service Charging for Photos

Park Service Charging for Photos

By DERRILL HOLLY
The Associated Press
Thursday, June 8, 2006; 5:02 AM

WASHINGTON -- Wedding parties and other groups hoping to commemorate their special event
with a photograph at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument or other popular landmarks
on National Park Service land now have to pay for a permit.

Under a new policy that began May 15, the Park Service is requiring a payment of $50 to
$250 from groups that hire commercial photographers to snap pictures at some of the 390
monuments, parks and historic sites it oversees. The cost depends on the size of the group.

The fees are being charged at some of the busiest Park Service sites in the Washington, D.C.,
area and at the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Other heavily used sites include the Statue of
Liberty, Alaska's Denali National Park and Preserve, Big Bend National Park in Texas, and
Yellowstone National Park.

Officials said the fees are in response to a 2000 federal law that requires various agencies
to come up with ways to recoup the costs of maintenance, security and other expenses stemming
from commercial filming and photography on federal land.