Actually they do much better than just pay their way.
Story in the Casper Star Tribune. “Each dollar spent on a national park generates at least $4 of value, but despite that clear economic payoff the parks suffer from underfunding, a new study says.”
A good question is, why does Congress underfund the national parks year after year, and most Presidents too recommend less than they need?
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University. He was a Western Watersheds Project Board Member off and on for many years, and was also its President for several years. For a long time he produced Ralph Maughan’s Wolf Report. He was a founder of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. He and Jackie Johnson Maughan wrote three editions of “Hiking Idaho.” He also wrote “Beyond the Tetons” and “Backpacking Wyoming’s Teton and Washakie Wilderness.” He created and is the administrator of The Wildlife News.