By David Butler
A bill introduced in Congress may make the entrance fee into public recreation areas, such as American Fork Canyon, permanent.
The fees were originally put in place on a temporary basis in 1996 through the Recreational Fee Demonstration Program, but if the bill passes before the end of the year, they will become permanent. If the bill does not go through, the temporary fee programs will expire next year.
Larry Velarde, recreation manager for the Pleasant Grove Ranger District, said funds that come from the government are insufficient to maintain the area.
“We get appropriated dollars that come down from Congress that we need to direct into each of the programs, projects and maintenance of the facilities,” he said. “Unfortunately the money that we do get appropriated down to us is not much.”
As an example, Velarde said he receives about $74,000 a year for the trails program.
“By the time I have paid overhead costs and fixed costs to operate the program, I barely have enough money to fund a seasonal crew of three people, for instance, for one month,” he said. “Which doesn”t do much for us.”
Through the Recreation Fee Demonstration Program, Velarde”s district earns approximately $400,000 a year.
“The supplemental revenue that we collect through the program really helps us to provide for those services, facilities and also law enforcement and forest service presence in the canyon,” he said.
Josh Jurgensen, the program manager for the Fee Demonstration Program, said the fees are extremely beneficial to those wanting to use the canyon.
“Without those funds, I think that we would find a fall off, if you will, of services and being able to maintain our current facilities,” he said. “That is primarily what we are trying to do with those funds.”
Heather Fillmore, an officer in the BYU Outdoor Adventure Club, said it would be nice if the fees were low, but supports the bill if it helps to maintain the trails and campsites that are up there.
Jurgensen said most of the negative feedback they receive is from people who have not seen the positive effects the fees have provided.
“Most of our repeat-recreational users have seen the difference since we began the program in 1997,” he said. “The negative feedback that we get is usually from people that are from out of state and the people that have just moved into Salt Lake County or Utah County and didn”t see the area how it was before [the program] arrived.”
Velarde said when they started the program in 1997 they received a lot of negative feedback.
“At least in the Salt Lake area, I”d say about 80 to 90 percent of the people did not want to pay the extra fee to go to the canyon,” he said. “After about two years, when they saw what we were doing … that number flip-flopped, and 80 to 90 percent of the public really supported what we were doing.”
Jergusen said since the introduction of the program, there are more people to maintain the park, trails and facilities, and that crime has actually gone down.
“The correct users are on our land right now,” he said. “Before, we had a lot of partiers who came up on Fridays and Saturdays, and now we have the families back. I think that”s what we want as an agency.”
The park is interested in the public”s point of view and opinions about what to do with the money to provide a more positive recreational experience.
“It is their money that is going into this canyon,” Velarde said. “We are not here to make money. We are here to collect those fees and put it right back into the canyon for those users.”
