Notice2025-00507
New Recreation Fee Areas and New Fees for Existing Individual Special Recreation Permits for On-River Camping in the Gunnison River Special Recreation Management Area Within the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area, Colorado
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
January 13, 2025
Effective
July 14, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentLand Management Bureau
Abstract
Pursuant to the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Grand Junction Field Office (GJFO), Upper Colorado River District, and the Uncompahgre Field Office (UFO), Southwest District, intend to establish recreation fee areas at existing developed campgrounds, future developed campgrounds and campsites, and for designated campsites within the Gunnison River Special Recreation Management Area (SRMA) in the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area (D-E NCA) as managed by the field offices as one NCA unit in Delta, Mesa, and Montrose Counties.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 7 (Monday, January 13, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 7 (Monday, January 13, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2740-2741]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-00507]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[PO #4820000251]
New Recreation Fee Areas and New Fees for Existing Individual
Special Recreation Permits for On-River Camping in the Gunnison River
Special Recreation Management Area Within the Dominguez-Escalante
National Conservation Area, Colorado
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent to establish fees.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act
(FLREA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Grand Junction Field
Office (GJFO), Upper Colorado River District, and the Uncompahgre Field
Office (UFO), Southwest District, intend to establish recreation fee
areas at existing developed campgrounds, future developed campgrounds
and campsites, and for designated campsites within the Gunnison River
Special Recreation Management Area (SRMA) in the Dominguez-Escalante
National Conservation Area (D-E NCA) as managed by the field offices as
one NCA unit in Delta, Mesa, and Montrose Counties.
DATES: The new fees will take effect on July 14, 2025 unless the BLM
publishes a Federal Register notice to the contrary.
ADDRESSES: Documents concerning this fee change may be reviewed at the
Grand Junction Field Office, 2815 H Road, Grand Junction, CO 81506;
phone: (970) 244-3000; and online at: <a href="https://www.blm.gov/programs/recreation/permits-and-fees/business-plans">https://www.blm.gov/programs/recreation/permits-and-fees/business-plans</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Zack Kelley, acting National
Conservation Area Manager, or Erin Jones, Deputy District Manager, with
the Upper Colorado River District, both at the Grand Junction Field
Office, telephone: (970) 244-3000. Individuals in the United States who
are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may
dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay
services for contacting the BLM. Individuals outside the United States
should use the relay services offered within their country to make
international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Consistent with the FLREA, the intent of
recreation fees is to help protect natural resources, provide for
public health and safety, and facilitate access to public lands and
related waters, and not to maximize fee revenue. Fees are a way of
ensuring that those who actively use recreation opportunities make a
greater, but reasonable, contribution toward protecting and enhancing
those opportunities than those who do not utilize recreational
opportunities.
FLREA directs the Secretary of the Interior to publish a 6-month
advance notice in the Federal Register whenever new recreation fee
areas are established. In accordance with BLM policy, the business plan
for the D-E NCA explains the fee collection process and how fees will
be used at these sites.
The BLM will establish new expanded amenity recreation fees at the
existing Big Dominguez and Potholes campgrounds. The BLM will establish
future expanded amenity fee collection for future designated campsites
(approximately 70) throughout the D-E NCA as expanded amenities are
developed and campsites are designated to meet public need and to
provide for resource protection.
The expanded amenity fee for developed campsites is $20 per night
per site (up to two vehicles included and no more than five
participants per vehicle). For larger capacity sites, as identified at
the campground by the BLM, each additional vehicle beyond the first two
vehicles will be $10 each. A vehicle is defined as legal transportation
used to access the site (e.g., car, truck, motorcycle, van, or other
wheeled conveyance). Participants includes non-human participants
(e.g., dogs, horses, alpacas, etc.).
Because the entirety of the D-E NCA meets the definition of a
Special Area, the BLM may also establish Individual Special Recreation
Permits (ISRP) and associated fees to be paid by visitors participating
in activities requiring special management. Consistent with this
authority, this notice also provides the required notification to apply
a fee structure to the ISRP established for the Gunnison River SRMA for
on-river camping. The BLM may also establish an ISRP fee for additional
areas where the Authorized Officer, in the future, determines
recreation requires special management through an ISRP. Notification of
future ISRP fees for any additional areas within the D-E NCA will be
published in the Federal Register. Day-use areas and areas where
dispersed/undeveloped camping is permitted will remain available
throughout D-E NCA without a reservation or a fee.
The ISRP fee is $20 per night per site for small groups (1 to 5
participants), $50 per night per site for medium groups (6 to 14
participants), and $100
[[Page 2741]]
per night per site for large groups (15 to 25 participants).
Participants includes non-human participants (e.g., dogs, horses,
alpacas, etc.).
To stay current with rising management and maintenance costs, the
BLM will utilize the Western U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) to
determine future fee adjustments. The Western U.S. CPI is published
online monthly at: <a href="https://www.bls.gov/cpi/regional-resources.htm">https://www.bls.gov/cpi/regional-resources.htm</a>. A
yearly average of the CPI is published every January. Every year after
fee implementation begins, the BLM will use the yearly CPI to determine
if fees need to be increased. When the CPI rises by 20 percent, the
fees may be increased the corresponding amount, rounded up to the
nearest whole dollar. This measure will result in a sustainable and
consistent funding source that will increase assurances for users that
the program could continue to provide regular maintenance and necessary
capital improvements into the future. The BLM will update the BLM
Northwest and Southwest Resource Advisory Councils (RACs) after each
fee increase (approximately every 4 to 5 years) on successes and
challenges in using the Western U.S. CPI.
People holding an America the Beautiful Pass--The National Parks
and Federal Recreational Lands Senior Pass or Access Pass, or a Golden
Age or Golden Access Passport, will be entitled to a 50 percent fee
reduction on expanded amenity fees. Discounts and fee-free days do not
apply to ISRP fees.
The BLM is establishing these recreation fees in response to
increasing recreation demands and resource protection requirements in
the D-E NCA. Recreation fees are needed to: maintain visitor facilities
and visitor services; replace aging infrastructure; reduce impacts to
resources; improve visitor health and safety; and provide sustainable
recreational opportunities. The business plan explains: (1) consistency
with the BLM recreation fee program policy; (2) the recreation
management direction for the D-E NCA; (3) the need for fee collection;
(4) how the fees will be used in the area; (5) coordination with RACs;
and (6) guidance on future fee increases. As analyzed in the business
plan, the recreation use fees are consistent with other nearby Federal
land management agency fees and are lower than the fees charged at
privately owned campgrounds. The business plan is available at <a href="https://www.blm.gov/programs/recreation/permits-and-fees/business-plans">https://www.blm.gov/programs/recreation/permits-and-fees/business-plans</a>.
A public comment period on the draft business plan, announced by a
news release, ran from August 26, 2024, to September 25, 2024. BLM
Northwest and Southwest RACs met March 30, 2023, at a combined RAC
meeting where they discussed fee proposals. The RACs recommended the
fee proposal for approval in a joint meeting on May 2, 2024, using the
Western U.S. CPI to determine future fee increases.
(Authority: 16 U.S.C. 6803(b) and 43 CFR 2933)
Douglas Vilsack,
BLM Colorado State Director.
[FR Doc. 2025-00507 Filed 1-10-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-16-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on January 13, 2025.
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