Appalled at the state of disrepair in many national parks, Congress last year raised admission prices at some parks and allowed park managers to keep more of the take to use on repairs. But these halting first steps, encouraging as they are to some observers, are still not enough. They say it is time to go further.

The National Parks Service says it has a $4.5 billion backlog of construction improvements and an $800 million backlog of maintenance projects.

Donald R. Leal and Holly L. Fretwell, analysts at PERC (Political Economy Research Center), a Montana-based think tank, want to make the parks self-sufficient. In a new study, "Back to the Future to Save Our Parks," they make these observations and recommendations:

• Each park's concessions and admissions fees should cover the cost of operations -- currently many parks don't even charge entrance fees.

• At Yellowstone, for example, entrance fees generate about $5 million, but operating costs are about $21 million, with $340 million needed just to repair roads.

• To achieve self-sufficiency, each park should keep all its fees.

• Most parks must turn over 85 percent of their fees to the Treasury, and even those in the new demonstration program will have to turn back to the government about 60 percent of fees collected.

Many state parks -- which rarely suffer from the ills national parks do -- are required to be self-sufficient. Managers have incentives to charge appropriate fees, since they must keep the parks in good shape to keep the visitors happy.

Leal says that if Yellowstone were to charge a relatively low $6 per person per visit, it would cover its current operating budget.

While generally applauding the concept of park self-sufficiency and incentives, some analysts contend the best solution is to privatize the parks altogether. The market would determine prices, self-interest would hold down costs. Then, investors would have an incentive to protect and enhance what they own.

Source: Perspective, "Paying for Parks," Investor's Business Daily, July 2, 1997.