Does anyone know of a study that assesses the market value of the national parks in the United States?
"It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds. " -- Samuel Adams.
No, but how would you proceed in determining "True" market value based upon the fact some of those National Park lands have considerable natural resources under their soil ! Current Congressional legislation does not permit the exploration or exploitation of these resources, so these resources are worthless to the American Tax Payer. { Which irritates me considerably. } I would like to see a National referendum vote on this issue, by the American Public, which I think would open up these Park Lands for extraction of any Natural Resources. After all, those resources belong to the Tax Paying Citizens of this Country, not the dunder heads in Congress !
I agree but I was looking for some general idea of what they might be worth if they were sold. I figure the number must be in the hundreds of billions of dollars. It very well could possibly be trillions of dollars if you consider them in total encompassing not just the surface lands but also the minerals and other resources located on them. I have an idea for an article I'd like to write for my blog (everyone's got one!) but can't really go forward with it without some kind of number. I could but I don't really want to.
The western National Parks, i.e. Yellowstone and Yosemite, were never owned, in the concept that somebody actually gained lawful title to the land via homesteading. Instead, they were taken by government fiat. Therefore, the parks should not be SOLD at all. They should be released from government fiat and opened to homesteading. Individuals and companies would go in and gain lawful title to land. It may be done by putting up a fence and building a house. Commencing agriculture. Or establishing a business. I would refer to various Austrian resources as to how original title to land is gained.
IF, they were to be sold, I think the composite value of the parks would EASILY go into the trillions. Mineral values alone would assure that.