The National Park Service (NPS) recently announced it would no longer accept cash payments at Hovenweep and Natural Bridges national monuments. But a lawsuit is challenging whether that arrangement is even legal.
A trio of Americans filed a lawsuit naming NPS and the federal Department of the Interior as defendants. The plaintiffs, Esther Van Der Werf, of California, Toby Stover, of New York and Georgia resident Elizabeth Dasburg allege the park service’s refusal to accept U.S. currency to pay for entrance fees “constitutes a clear violation of federal law.”
NPS, according to the lawsuit, denies access to nearly 30 national parks or monuments to those without bank accounts or possess credit cards. It is estimated nearly six million American households are impacted.
The plaintiffs also argue they have a right to pay in cash regardless of their banking situation.
“NPS’s violation of federal law cannot be overlooked in favor of any purported benefit NPS Cashless could hope to achieve, such as reducing logistics of handling cash collected,” reads the lawsuit. Indeed, San Deigo-based attorney Ray Flores II argues that NPS will incur increased costs due to processing fees, personal surcharges and bank fees.
“However, plaintiffs do not ask the court to prohibit NPS from accepting credit cards, debit cards or digital payment methods, such as ApplePay, should visitors to NPS sites prefer to use them. Rather, the plaintiffs ask the court to restore entrance to NPS sites to those who cannot access non-cash payment methods and those who choose not to by declaring NPS Cashless to be unlawful.”
Flores, in court documents, cites the U.S. code that establishes “United States coins and currency, including Federal Reserve Notes and Federal Reserve Banks are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes and dues. Foreign gold or silver coins are not legal tender for debts.”
The fees NPS assesses fall under the public charges category.
The factual basis for the lawsuit regards trips the defendants took. New Yorker Stover traveled to the NPS entrance to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s home in Hyde Park, New York in January. Stover proffered a $10 bill to the NPS employee at the gate, who told Stover cash was not accepted and barred her entry.
Van der Werf was denied entry at the Tonto and Organ Pipe national monuments and Saguaro National Park, each in Arizona, in late January and early February. She had cash to cover the fees but was told cash was not acceptable. (Note: Checks are likewise refused.)
Dasburg emailed Fort Pulaski National Historic Site near Savannah, Georgia asking if she could pay cash to enter and was told in a written reply in early March that the change to cashless that went into effect in 2020 was permanent. It was suggested she purchase a gift card that “we can accept in leu (sic) of cash.”
This story was first published by The Times-Independent.