Lake Roosevelt Administrative History

User Fees

Because of the many access roads to Lake Roosevelt, it has never been feasible to collect park entrance fees at LARO. User fees, however, can be charged for the use of specific facilities such as campgrounds and boat launch ramps. During the 1940s, LARO Superintendent Claude Greider argued against instituting boat permit fees at the NRA, and this was confirmed in the regulations approved in 1952 for Lake Mead, Millerton Lake, and Coulee Dam national recreation areas. Fees for government-operated campgrounds, however, were prohibited in the National Park System until 1965 and were not systematically instituted until 1970. The money collected from these fees was placed in the general treasury and made subject to congressional appropriation. The funds did not return to the parks in which they were generated, although after 1972 they did at least return to the Park Service. The use of the collected fees was authorized for resource protection, interpretation, research, and maintenance activities related to resource protection. [94]

The institution of campground fees within the Park Service was initiated by the 1962 Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission report, which called for user fees for federal recreational facilities such as campgrounds. The report led to bills that contained authority for federal agencies such as the Park Service to set entrance and user fees, and this policy became effective in 1965 with the passage of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act. By 1968, earlier than most other Park Service units, LARO was charging a camping fee at its largest and most developed sites (Spring Canyon, Fort Spokane, Porcupine Bay, Kettle Falls, and Evans). Its $2 camping fee was higher than the local Forest Service fee of $1, and some members of the public complained about the discrepancy. By the late 1970s, LARO was collecting some $30,000 each year in camping fees. In 1976, for example, the NRA collected about $5 for every $1 spent in fee collection. In that year, LARO staff increased the fee to $3 per night, numbered campground sites, and set up registration bulletin boards. [95]

During the 1980s, LARO continued to improve its fee collection system and to increase the camping fees. In 1982, the fee jumped to $5 per night for sites in the six most highly developed campgrounds. Despite local controversy, fees were instituted at Marcus Island campground in 1987. In 1989, a courier system was established to provide better control over the counting of collected funds, and soon a local bank was counting the monies. In 1989, over $130,000 was collected in user fees. [96]

The fee collection program at LARO changed significantly in 1994 and 1995 because of Congressional legislation mandating the collection of fees for some facilities and services that previously had been free. As a result, LARO began charging fees at all seventeen vehicle campgrounds. Beginning in June 1995, a boat launch fee was charged to the general public. Tribal members were exempt from this charge at all LARO ramps, as were Lincoln County taxpayers through 2005 for the ramp they had helped fund. The fees charged were based on fees for similar facilities at Washington state parks and private sites. LARO was the first Park Service unit to enforce the charging of fees for boat launch ramps, and the NRA received little public support for this action. The campground and boat launch fees collected in 1995 increased considerably over previous years to more than $311,000. Today, a fee is charged at all the launch ramps managed by the Park Service at LARO. The two tribal ramps at Inchelium and Two Rivers do not charge (the tribes charge for camping only). [97]

The Park Service instituted a three-year Fee Demonstration Program in 1996. LARO was selected to participate. Under the program, 80 percent of the revenues collected were returned to LARO for use on approved projects. The remaining 20 percent were distributed Servicewide. This program provided significant funds to LARO. Projects funded by the program have included solar lighting at various visitor facilities; accessible restrooms; launch ramp extensions; and shore anchor and courtesy dock improvements. In general, the monies fund minor construction, rehabilitation, and cyclic maintenance projects. [98]

User fees are sometimes used to distribute visitors throughout a park. Another method of controlling crowding at campgrounds is the reservation system. The Park Service instituted a campground reservation system in 1973. By the late 1980s, group campsites at LARO could be reserved. The reservation system has not yet been extended to individual campsites, although this may be considered in the future to reduce problems with overcrowding at popular areas. Other measures may include installing signs at key junctions along the highways telling visitors that certain campgrounds are full and offering additional information. The CCT instituted a reservation system for non-member camping at four campgrounds on Lake Roosevelt - Inchelium Area AA Camp and the Keller Park, Sanpoil Bay, and Wilmont Creek campgrounds - and they also began charging a user fee for camping throughout their reservation, including sites along the shores of Lake Roosevelt. [99]