Red River Gorge Day Use and Camping Fee Change Proposal
SOURCE MATERIAL
“2024 Recreation Fee Proposal” - Forest Service
2022 Red River Gorge Management Plan Decision Notice
Red River Gorge Management Planning and Comprehensive River Management Plan
OVERVIEW
Forest Service has introduced a proposal to add new fees and increase existing fees for those visiting Red River Gorge. These come as no surprise, as they were mentioned in the 2022 Forest Management Plan Update discussion.
BACKGROUND
The management plan update was required due to increased visitation leading into and through the pandemic. While crowds have leveled off a bit, the Red continues to see far more use than its current structure is designed to accommodate.
Specifically, (1) parking is woefully inadequate during peak season, (2) far too many backcountry campsites have been created, (3) staffing remains inadequate to meet demands created by visitors, (4) user trails proliferate the region and some should be incorporated into the official trail system, (5) facilities improvements are needed for restrooms, trash disposal, and picnic areas.
There are a great many improvements that are needed and some of them have been under construction over the last couple years.
HOWEVER, these improvements require resources far above what has been allocated to foresters assigned to the region. As a result, fee increases are necessary to (1) address these areas of need and (2) reduce overall visitor impacts in the region.
At the time when the management plan update was drafted, total employee head count was exactly 9 employees (including full- and part-time) to manage an estimated 500,000 to 1 million visitors annually across about 50,000 acres.
PROPOSED FEE CHANGES
Day Use Fees. Using the same cost structure currently in place for overnight passes, day use fees have been proposed - $5 for a single day pass, $7 for a 3-day pass, or $50 for an annual pass per vehicle. Currently, there is no fee for day use in Red River Gorge.
Camping Fees. The proposal includes these rates based on use:
$10/night | Backcountry Single Campsite
$15/night | Frontcountry Single Campsite
$35/night | 20-person Group Campsite
$50/night | 30-person Group Campsite
These camping fees replace the current overnight parking fees of $5 for a single day, $7 for a 3-day pass, and $50 for an annual pass per vehicle. This is separate from Koomer Ridge Campground that has a different fee structure.
NATIONAL FUNDING
National Forests receive most of their funding from the federal government, and this has historically been meager to say the least (about $20/acre). After all, our National Forests are primarily funded to protect watersheds and provide timber reserves - recreation is often further down on the priority list.
RECREATION FUNDING, LOCAL FEES
To help foresters address the budgetary gap created by outsized recreation, local fees were allocated to provide funding for enhanced facilities through the 2004 Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act.
The Act essentially allows fees to be collected AND used locally - outside of the baseline national budget. In essence, these fees are designed to address facilities construction and maintenance to better accommodate visitors.
OPINION
This is a no-brainer for me - I fully support these fees. They’re reasonably priced, in-line with other national forests, and will help with the problems that we’ve all seen over the last several years.
I always use White Mountain National Forest as my yardstick on these things because that forest sees massive visitor numbers. The foresters there have managed to maintain orderly recreation and robust facilities (for a National Forest) with a similar fee structure.
So, what are these fees going to buy? According to the documents provided, here’s what that money is intended to do:
Designate up to 350 campsites
Designate 50 more miles of trails
Establish parking up to 530 spaces
Designate up to 28 shuttle stops
Designate up to 60 picnic sites
Construct 36 restrooms
Construct 3 boat launches
Designate 5 river access points
Stabilize and harden 12 cliffside sites
Decommission and restore up to 650 unauthorized campsites
Decommission and restore up to 150 miles of unauthorized trails
Rehab and restore impacted water access points
Institute forest orders for camping, fires, riparian/rockshelter/other off-trail protections, parking restrictions, and day use restrictions