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[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]

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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.

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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: [email protected]; or Hilary Boyd, Assistant Field Manager, 
Colorado River Valley Field Office; phone: (970) 876-9003, email: 
[email protected]. 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
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