the new national parks annual pass is going to be $250 for "nonresidents". everyone (including me) has been freaking out about how much more expensive it will be to visit national parks, but no one's actually thinking about how this is going to be enforced. in fact, we don't even know what a "resident" is. does that mean lprs (green card holders) or anyone with a valid real id? if the latter, even providing citizenship is something the federal government struggles with, how in the world are they going to prove residency?
one really interesting detail that usa today (
https://archive.ph/Bz3t6) has published is: "Residents purchasing annual passes through Recreation.gov will be asked to enter their zip code online and to show a U.S.-government issued photo ID when using the pass." assuming i can read, it seems that the recreation.gov checkout page will just have a zip code field (like it does already), and enforcement will be handed off to the parks employees on the ground. given that i have a real id, and i'm not a permanent resident, i should be able to get the resident annual pass (as fucking ugly as it'll look with trump's mug on it) and slide on through into any national park.
i guess im gonna wait until january 2026 to buy a pass and find out lol
