Editor's note: This corrects that Derrick Crandall did not testify before the subcommittee, but rather presented his ideas in written form.

A "Centennial Penny for the Parks," a $1 fee surcharge for entry into national parks, and increases in mandatory appropriations to fund infrastructure needs were among the ideas presented to a House subcommittee considering legislation aimed at helping the National Park Service prepare for its next century as guardian of "America's Best Idea."

The bottom-line message delivered during Wednesday's hearing before the Subcommittee on Federal Lands, Committee on Natural Resources was that the Park Service is falling behind in maintaining the parks and their resources because it isn't adequately funded.

“The National Park Service Centennial is focused on connecting with and creating the next generation of park visitors, supporters and advocates,” Park Service Director Jon Jarvis said. “To that end, Congress must increase funding – including mandatory appropriations – to improve park infrastructure and to help develop the next generation of park stewards.”

The director's message came as the subcommittee was considering two measures aimed at the Park Service centennial: one was the Obama administration's proposal that was introduced into the House by Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Arizona, the other a draft "discussion bill" by Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee.

According to the Park Service, four areas are common to the two proposals:

* Authority for an endowment for the National Park Foundation and authority to accept gifts, bequests and devises and additional funds for use on national park projects.

* Authorities to create the next generation of park stewards by increasing the number of volunteers in national parks and the number of young people eligible for the Public Lands Corps, a program that provides a path to National Park Service employment; as well as direction to adopt new technologies for interpretation and education programs to engage park visitors and new audiences.

* Authority to obtain fees or royalties from the sale of reproductions of museum objects in National Park Service collections.

* Authority to reorganize the National Park Foundation by allowing the board of directors to elect its own leadership and to provide annual appropriations that the foundation can use to match private funds for projects that support the National Park Service.

Director Jarvis said the Bishop draft and Grijalva’s bill both seek to reduce $11.5 billion of deferred maintenance of national park facilities and to increase support for the National Park Foundation so that it may leverage citizen and business contribution for national park projects. The director highlighted the administration’s proposal for a Centennial Challenge: a three-year effort to invest up to $1.5 billion of federal dollars for deferred maintenance and to address high-priority projects and programs of the National Park Service. It would also create a National Park Foundation endowment to bolster annual maintenance funding and other needs of the National Park Service. The Bishop draft creates an endowment but does not include the three-year, federally-funded deferred maintenance effort.

“The advantage of the President’s proposal is that it targets the highest priority maintenance work which will stop the growth of deferred maintenance and it provides other sources of funding that can leverage private dollars for the benefit of the National Park Service,” Director Jarvis said. “When the fund expires after Fiscal Year 2018, we’ll be positioned to use our regular annual appropriations with the additional funding authorized in the proposal to continue to reduce the backlog.”

However, some funding mechanisms recommended by the administration would only be triggered if matched on a 1-1 basis with private dollars. For instance, the president's legislation calls for higher camping and lodging fees, as well as a signficant increase in the cost of a lifetime senior pass, but those revenues could only be spent in the National Park System if matched on a "1-to-1 basis by nonfederal donations..." as the legislation currently reads.

Derrick Crandall, counselor for the National Park Hospitality Association which represents the interests of concessionaires in the parks, presented the association's thoughts on aiding the Park Service in written testimony. While he applauded some provisions of the two measures, Mr. Crandall asked that the subcommittee not endorse draft language that would place a nightly surcharge on lodge guests as a means of generating revenues for the Park Service.

"First, it would alter the comparability provisions for the pricing of lodging in parks established under the 1998 concessions law. Second, the tax would be paid by a very small portion of all park visitors and would yield no responsive benefits to those paying the tax," he said in his written comments. "Third, the tax could be a real deterrent to efforts to attract visitors to parks during shoulder seasons, undermining important streams of revenue to the agency from entrance fees and franchise fees that are key to operations and maintenance. Fourth, the addition of a new federal tax on state and county sales and tourism taxes, utility pass-through charges and more is likely to have a chilling effect on the guest donation program – again, an important source of support for park programs and projects today and an important opportunity for expansion as a funding strategy once needed revisions are made to NPS Directors Order 21. And fifth, the administration of this tax will be a challenge and the transfer of the tax to a nonfederal entity raises a variety of issues."

Instead, wrote Mr. Crandall, the hospitality association favored a Centennial Park Entrance Fee Surcharge of $1 on all existing entrance fees – whether for vehicles or per person -- that would likely generate at least $10 million annually. The group also sought the legislators' support for a "Centennial Penny for Parks" federal motorfuel excise tax surcharge.

"The significant revenues associated with this program would allow elimination of the large and growing backlog in transportation-related investment needs in national parks and other federally managed lands within a decade and could underwrite innovative ways to improve accessibility of our great outdoors to all Americans," he wrote.

Beyond funding, the hospitality association believes the Park Service should be given the resources to promote the National Park System. Funding for such promotion could be obtained by annually taking up to 10 percent of the franchise fees concessionaires now pay the Park Service, said Mr. Crandall.

"We believe that outreach and promotion efforts will increase collection of park entrance and recreation fees sufficiently to underwrite both improvements in visitor experiences and specific efforts, including fee-free days, to successfully invite non-traditional park visitors," he said.