River News Now Breaking News Travel

(NAPSI) - There's good news for those who enjoy visiting America's national parks and federal recreation lands. A new interagency pass has been created that's designed to make visiting federal recreation lands easier and to aid preservation. Funds generated by the pass are used to improve visitor facilities and services.

Called America the Beautiful- the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass, it provides unlimited access for a year to nearly 2,000 federal recreation sites that charge an entrance or standard amenity fee, beginning from the date of sale.

Participating agencies include the National Park Service, Forest Service, Fish & Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Reclamation.

The pass admits the passholder and passengers in a private vehicle or the passholder and three adults at per-person-fee sites. Children under 16 are admitted free. The pass can be obtained in person at participating recreation areas, by calling 1-888ASK USGS, ext. 1, or via the Internet at http://store.usgs.gov/pass. The cost of the pass is $80.

A new federal recreation lands photo contest is sponsored by the National Park Foundation and Ford Motor Company on behalf of all the participating agencies. Amateur photographers can enter the "Share the Experience" photo contest and compete to have their photo of federal lands on the annual pass. For more information and official rules, go to www.sharetheexperience.org.

Services not covered by the pass include camping, RV hookups, boat launching, tours and some parking and concession fees.

The National Park System comprises 391 parks covering more than 84 million acres in every state except Delaware. These areas include national parks, monuments, battlefields, military parks, historical parks, historic sites, lakeshores, seashores, recreation areas, scenic rivers and trails.

A version of the pass is also available free to volunteers who acquire 500 service hours on a cumulative basis. This pass is good for one year. A lifetime version of the pass is available at federal recreation sites and must be obtained in person for those 62 and older for $10 and to those with permanent disabilities for no charge.

To learn more, visit the Web site at http://store.usgs.gov/pass.

A new pass provides one-year access to federal recreation sites that charge an entrance or standard amenity fee. Fees from the pass are used to enhance visitor facilities and services.