Well, they don't own the land under most huts .
One thing that is often forgotten is that the Huts effectively subsidize the cost of other AMC initiatives in the Whites, which hikers enjoy for no cost, or -- in the case of the caretaker campsites--much less than the actual cost of the provided service.
In effect, those staying in the huts are helping underwrite the experience of those who don't. The financials associated wi the huts were included in the EIS. While the huts are operated at a profit the overall operation in The Whites operated at a loss-- at least at the time the figures were laid out in the EIS. The actual operating cost was surprisingly expensive. I am surprised more people don't see the poetry in having the folks staying at the huts paying for so much that we get for free!
The delta is covered by the members and donors to the AMC, of course. We should be especially thankful for the land that the AMC has forever protected around the hundred mile wilderness, when few others could or would. And the respect the extended to the local community in the process.
Oh yea, Another thing that is forgotten is the range of options to simply pitch a tent or hammock in the woods. Not everywhere, but in far more places than some think is permitted by the Forest Service.
We are better off for the AMC. And for most of us the benefits didn't cost one thin dime.