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Workshops planned on disputed recreation fees
| Friday, May 30 2008 2:28 PM
Last Updated: Friday, May 30 2008 2:08 PM
A plan to charge visitors for access to the shorelines of Isabella Lake, the upper Kern River and parts of the Giant Sequoia National Monument will be discussed in a series of upcoming workshops.
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Bakersfield: Wednesday, East Bakersfield Vets Hall, 2101 Ridge Road
Kernville: Thursday, Ranger District Office, 105 Whitney Road
Porterville: June 9, Forest Supervisor’s Office, 1839 S. Newcomb St.
Ridgecrest: June 11, Kerr McGee Center, 100 W. California Ave.
The proposal would charge vehicles $10 per day or $50 for an annual pass to visit areas that are now accessible free of charge. The money would be used to enhance facilities, trash collection and patrols in those areas, forest officials say.
The plan does not sit well with business leaders and residents in nearby Kernville and the Kern River Valley who believe fees could deter tourists and impact low-income locals who frequent the areas.
“This, to me, is another form of taxation and it's not fair in many different ways,” said Barrie Mann, president of the Kern River Valley Chamber of Commerce. “We don't believe a senior citizen who wants to go sit at the lake on his lawn chair and fish should be forced to pay a fee.”
The plan is the latest effort by Forest recreation managers to scrounge up money to maintain high-use recreation areas in the face of increased visitors and federal funding cuts.
With millions in backlogged maintenance repairs at recreation sites, Forest officials two years ago started to look for ways to cut costs and still keep heavy-use areas open. To avoid imposing access fees, they initially proposed a reduction in amenities at about 50 campgrounds, trail heads, picnic and boating sites.
That plan, too, was opposed by the local community.
“They didn't like that and we had a big uproar. So we’ve said, ‘OK, here's another way we could do it,’” said Mary Cole, a Forest Service landscape architect who works on planning and management issues in Sequoia.
Cole said areas that would come under the fees don’t have regular trash pickup or toilets. While some privately managed campgrounds exist, the bulk of the land is dispersed camping — free, rustic campsites that have few amenities. Money is needed to keep those areas clean, sanitary and to hire rangers who can patrol them to prevent graffiti or vandalism, Cole said.
Under federal rules, the forest can keep up to 95 percent of the recreation fees it charges to maintain and upgrade facilities. Mann said the local community would like to see Forest officials consider raising fees in the managed campsites but Cole said they can’t tell private businesses what fees to charge.
Meetings on the issue next week will provide locals and other interested parties a chance to weigh in on the plan. If the Forest decides to move forward with the fees, a statewide recreation board will have to approve the increase.