[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 3 (Monday, January 6, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 662-663]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-31749]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[PO #4820000251]
New Recreation Fee Areas and Requirement To Obtain an Individual
Special Recreation Permit for On-River Camping Within the Upper
Colorado River Special Recreation Management Areas, Colorado
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of new fees.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act
(FLREA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Kremmling Field Office
(KFO) and the Colorado River Valley Field Office (CRVFO) are
establishing new Special Areas and new recreation fee areas
(campgrounds, designated campsites, and day use fees) within the two
Upper Colorado River (UCR) Special Recreation Management Areas (SRMAs)
managed by the field offices.
DATES: New fees will take effect on July 7, 2025, unless the BLM
publishes a Federal Register notice to the contrary.
ADDRESSES: Documents concerning this fee change may be reviewed at the
Kremmling Field Office, 2103 East Park Ave., Kremmling, CO 80459; at
the Colorado River Valley Field Office, 2300 River Frontage Road, Silt,
CO 81652; and online at: https://www.blm.gov/sites/default/files/docs/2024-10/Business%20Plan%20for%20the%20UCR.pdf.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen Leonard, Field Manager,
Kremmling Field Office at Kremmling Field Office, phone: (970) 724-
3000, email: sleonard@blm.gov; or Hilary Boyd, Assistant Field Manager,
Colorado River Valley Field Office; phone: (970) 876-9003, email:
hboyd@blm.gov. 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.
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 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, 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 UCR SRMAs explains the fee collection process and how fees will
be used at these sites.
KFO will charge Standard Amenity fees of $10 per day per vehicle,
$5 per day for individuals (motorcycle, bicycle, or walk-in), and $20
per day per high-capacity vehicle (carrying capacity greater than 15
passengers), and will offer a $50 day-use season pass (valid for all
day-use sites) at Confluence Recreation Area, Gore Canyon Ranch Access,
Inspiration Flats Recreation Area, Radium Warm Springs Recreation Area,
and State Bridge Recreation Area/Piney Peak Access.
CRVFO will implement new Standard Amenity fees of $10 per day per
vehicle, $5 per day for individuals (motorcycle, bicycle, or walk-in),
and $20 per day per high-capacity vehicle (carrying capacity greater
than 15 passengers), and will offer a $50 day-use season pass (valid
for all day-use sites) at Two Bridges River Access, Catamount
Recreation Site, Pinball Recreation Site, Cottonwood Island Recreation
Site, Lyon's Gulch Recreation Site, and Dotsero Landing River Access.
KFO and CRVFO will implement an Expanded Amenity recreation fee of
$25 for Single Campsites (up to 10 visitors, with the first two
vehicles included in the campsite fee; additional vehicles will pay a
day-use fee), and $75 for Group Campsites (up to 30 visitors, with the
first two vehicles included in the campsite fee; additional vehicles
will pay a day-use fee) at the following campground sites: Pumphouse
Recreation Area Campground, Radium Recreation Area Campground, Radium
Warm Springs Campground, Catamount
[[Page 663]]
Campground, Pinball Campground, and Lyon's Gulch Campground.
The Upper Colorado River SRMA Season Pass will apply to day-use
sites in both field offices and will be adjusted from $20 per season to
$50 per season. This Federal Register notice also provides the required
notification that a Special Area and associated Individual Special
Recreation Permit (ISRP) fee structure are established for the KFO UCR
SRMA and the CRVFO UCR SRMA for on-river camping. KFO is establishing a
Special Area for KFO's UCR SRMA based on the 2019 Upper Colorado River
Recreation Area Management Plan. CRVFO has completed an environmental
assessment to establish a Special Area for CRVFO's UCR SRMA. An ISRP
fee (float-in only) of $5 per participant/night will apply to 25
designated campsites in the KFO's UCR SRMA. An ISRP fee (float-in only)
of $5 per participant/night will apply to the 11 on-river designated
campsites in the CRVFO's UCR SRMA. The campsites subject to the ISRP
fee are identified in the Business Plan.
Under 16 U.S.C. 6802(g)(2)(A) and (C) of FLREA, developed
campgrounds and rental cabins qualify as sites wherein visitors can be
charged an ``Expanded Amenity Recreation Fee.'' Pursuant to FLREA and
implementing regulations at 43 CFR subpart 2933, fees may be charged
for overnight camping, rental of cabins, and group use reservations
where specific amenities and services are provided. The required
amenities are provided, or will be provided prior to fee
implementation, at all the campgrounds identified in this notice as
subject to an Expanded Amenity Recreation Fee. Specific visitor fees
will be identified and posted at each campground or rental cabin.
Under 16 U.S.C. 6802(f)(4) of FLREA, all day-use sites in this
notice qualify as areas wherein visitors can be charged a ``Standard
Amenity Recreation Fee''. Pursuant to FLREA and implementing
regulations at 43 CFR part 2930 subpart 2933, fees may be charged for
an area where there are significant opportunities for outdoor
recreation and where fees can be efficiently collected, and that has
substantial Federal investments and contains specific amenities and
services. Specific visitor fees will be identified and posted at each
day-use site.
In response to increasing recreation demands and visitation on the
BLM lands, the KFO and CRVFO developed a combined recreation fee
business plan to achieve consistency across the UCR SRMA administrative
boundaries. Standard Amenity, Expanded Amenity, and Special Area ISRP
fees are needed to maintain visitor facilities and visitor services,
replace aging infrastructure, and improve access to recreational
opportunities. The business plan explains: (1) consistency with the BLM
recreation fee program policy; (2) the KFO and CRVFO recreation
management direction for the UCR SRMAs; (3) the need for fee
collection; (4) how the fees will be used in the area; (5) Resource
Advisory Council (RAC) coordination; 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 BLM posted public notices of the proposed fees at each
recreation site during the 2023 use season. The KFO and CRVFO will
contact local governments and local special recreation permit holders
who may be affected. Following FLREA guidelines, the BLM Northwest RAC
recommended the proposed fee structure for approval on June 22, 2023.
The RAC voted to recommend the proposed business plan, giving the BLM
the discretion to raise the fees without returning to the RAC for
approval within the following ranges: $10 to $15 for a normal vehicle;
$5 to $10 for a bike, motorcycle, or walk-in; and $20 to $30 for a
high-capacity vehicle, based on the 2023 consumer price index (CPI).
Fees will initially be implemented at the lower proposed fee schedule.
The CPI will be utilized in future years to increase fees as needed,
with CPI escalation allowed for any inflationary adjustment above 2023
dollars.
A public comment period on the draft business plan, announced by
news release, ran from October 7, 2024, through November 6, 2024. The
Colorado State Director approved the final business plan on December
20, 2024.
(Authority: 16 U.S.C. 6803(b) and 43 CFR 2933.22)
Douglas J. Vilsack,
Colorado State Director.
[FR Doc. 2024-31749 Filed 1-3-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-16-P