Yellowstone national park is offering an annual pass valid for entry in 2172 in exchange for a $1,500 donation, part of a fundraising efforts in honor of the park’s 150th birthday.
The park hopes that the tickets, dubbed “The Inheritance Passes”, will be used by the donor’s descendants. Yellowstone Forever, the park’s fundraising arm, will use the money to support park projects such as trail improvements, education, native fish conservation and scientific studies.
“It is our way of celebrating 150 years of Yellowstone national park and to help preserve the park for the next 150 years,” Lisa Diekmann, president and CEO of Yellowstone Forever, told The Billings Gazette.
The concept was created by the Havas Chicago advertising agency.
Rather than looking back to celebrate the park’s 150th anniversary, Havas Chicago said they thought it would be the perfect time to look ahead and think about ways to preserve the park for future generations.
The Inheritance Passes will be valid for entry into Yellowstone in 2172. Donors will also receive a pass to enter Yellowstone that is good for a period of a year after its first use, said Wendie Carr, chief marketing officer for Yellowstone Forever.
Yellowstone, America’s first national park, celebrated its 150th anniversary on 1 March. The milestone comes as the park and its caretakers grapple with a host of challenges, including the climate crisis and the pressures of surging visitation.
Longtime “winterkeeper” Steven Fuller said in February the changes he’s seen over the past four decades have been “profound”. Animals such as bison, wolves and grizzly bears made a comeback, for instance, but there is also more traffic and weather extremes.
“It’s difficult sometimes to sort out the paradoxes,” he said.
