President Donald Trump on 3 July signed an executive order directing the Interior Department to increase entrance fees for foreign visitors at U.S. national parks while keeping rates unchanged for Americans. The measure aims to channel additional revenue into conservation and deferred-maintenance projects and, according to the text, make park visits "more affordable" for domestic travellers. The White House said the surcharge could raise hundreds of millions of dollars for the National Park Service and instructed the agency to give U.S. residents priority in reservation and permitting systems. The order does not specify the size of the increase or its start date. Of the Park Service’s 433 units, about 100 currently charge admission, with fees ranging from zero at Great Smoky Mountains to $35 per vehicle at Yellowstone, Yosemite and the Grand Canyon. The fee plan coincides with a proposal to cut the Park Service’s operating budget by more than $1 billion—over one-third—in fiscal 2026. Permanent staffing has fallen 24% since January, and just 4,500 of the 8,000 seasonal workers promised for this summer have been hired, the National Parks Conservation Association says. Visits continue to rise, hitting a record 331 million last year, intensifying pressure on aging infrastructure. A parallel debate is unfolding in Kenya, where the Kenya Wildlife Service on 10 July published draft regulations to revise park tariffs for the first time in 18 years. To close a KES 12 billion ($94 million) annual funding gap, the agency proposes raising adult entry at Nairobi National Park to KES 1,000 from KES 430 and lifting fees for foreign tourists at Amboseli and Lake Nakuru to $90 from $60. KWS projects the new schedule could almost double annual revenue to KES 16.6 billion by 2028, funding anti-poaching efforts, habitat restoration and infrastructure upgrades.