Inyo National Forest Is Proposing To Change Recreation Fees At Reds Meadow

News Release
US Forest Service
Inyo National Forest
Contacts: Nancy Upham (760) 873-2427

Bishop, CA (July 10, 2009)...This summer the Forest Service is actively seeking comments and feedback on a proposal to change the fees that are charged to recreate in Reds Meadow Valley. The changes are proposed to take effect in 2010.

In 2004, Congress passed the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act which allows the Forest Service to keep 95 percent of the fees collected at certain recreation sites and to use these funds locally to operate, maintain, and improve facilities and programs at the sites where the fees are collected.

For 30 years, the Inyo National Forest has charged a transportation fee to Reds Meadow recreationists to help pay for the costs of the mandatory shuttle system. This year Eastern Sierra Transit has begun operating the shuttle system, allowing the Forest Service the opportunity to look at how to use recreation fees to enhance facilities and visitor services in the Reds Meadow Valley. The Forest Service is proposing to change the current fee in order to most efficiently make improvements to the visitor amenities available in the Valley. It is important to note that the Reds Meadow/Devils Postpile Shuttle will remain mandatory for most visitors and that this proposed change will not affect the transportation fare visitors pay to ride the shuttle. The proposed fee change will only apply to the "exception vehicles" that are allowed to drive into Reds Meadow during shuttle operation, and it may apply to all visitors during the times of the season when the shuttle is not in operation (early June and after Labor Day.)

The existing fee is $7/adult and $4/child. The Forest Service is proposing to change the fee to $10 per vehicle for an Inyo Day Pass. In addition to the Day Pass, the proposal includes an Inyo 3-day pass for $20/vehicle and an Inyo Season Pass for $35/vehicle. All three passes will also be accepted and sold at the other Inyo National Forest day use fee sites: South Tufa in the Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area and Schulman Grove in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. The national Interagency Recreation Annual, Senior, and Access Passes may also be accepted.

"We recognize how important the Reds Meadow Valley is to our local community and to those who recreate in the Valley. This fee change will help us maintain the day use sites to the level and quality people have come to expect, and to make new additions that will improve the visitor experience," said Mike Schlafmann, Deputy District Ranger for the Mammoth and Mono Lake Ranger Districts.

This summer the Forest Service is actively soliciting feedback on this proposal from local residents, visitors to the Eastern Sierra, and other members of the general public who might have an interest in this proposal. To provide feedback, please send comments to Matt Peterson, Inyo National Forest, 351 Pacu Lane, Suite 200, Bishop, CA 93514; or by email to comments-inyo-fee-change@fs.fed.us; or drop them off in person at the address above or at any Inyo National Forest Visitor Center. To be most helpful, the Forest Service would like to receive comments by Labor Day of this year, which is September 7.

Under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, fee change proposals in California are presented to a citizen’s advisory committee, called the California Recreation Resource Advisory Committee, or RRAC. Committee members represent a broad array of recreation interest groups to help ensure that the Forest Service is proposing reasonable and publicly acceptable recreation fees. Committee members help ensure that the Forest Service addresses public issues and concerns about recreation fees. The public is welcome to attend and comment at all advisory committee meetings. This proposal will be reviewed at some future RRAC meeting. Currently the next RRAC meeting is scheduled for September 16-17, and is planned to be held in the Eastern Sierra. The exact location and agenda of the meeting will be announced through local media and on the California RRAC website: http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/passes/rrac/

For more information, questions or comments about this fee change proposal, please contact Matt Peterson at 760-873-2494 or mbpeterson@fs.fed.us.