I
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2107
To amend the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to improve
the quality of visitor services provided by Federal land management
agencies through an incentive-based recreation fee program, and for
other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 25, 1995
Mr. HANSEN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Resources
A BILL
To amend the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of
1965 to improve the quality of visitor services provided
by Federal land management agencies through an
incentive-based recreation fee program, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Visitor Services Im-
provement and Outdoor Legacy Act of 1995’’.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to improve the overall qual-
ity of the visitor recreation experience on Federal lands
through an innovative and incentive-based recreation fee
program combined with an appropriation targeted to meet
the increasing demand for recreational use of the Federal
lands.
SEC. 3. REPEAL OF EXISTING RECREATION FEE PROGRAM
AND ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW RECREATION
FEE PROGRAM.
Section 4 of the Land and Water Conservation Fund
Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–6a) is amended to read as
follows:
‘‘RECREATION FEE PROGRAM
‘‘SEC. 4. (a) PROGRAM GOALS AND POLICIES.—
‘‘(1) CONGRESSIONAL GOALS.—It is the policy
of Congress that the Federal land management
agencies develop and implement high quality recre-
ation programs adequate to meet the needs of the
American people. In order to accomplish this goal,
the agencies shall establish recreation fee programs
designed to generate 75 percent of the annual cost
of providing visitor recreational programs for each
agency.
‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES.—The admin-
istering Secretaries jointly shall issue an integrated
‘‘(5) RECREATION FEES.—The term ‘recreation
fees’ means admission fees, recreational services
fees, and concession fees.
‘‘(6) RECREATIONAL
SERVICES.—The term
‘recreational services’ means services directly associ-
ated with management of recreation visitors to Fed-
eral lands, including (but not limited to) such pro-
grams as maintenance of facilities which serve pri-
marily visitor recreation use such as campgrounds,
scenic roads, trails, visitor centers and picnic areas,
public information and interpretation, wildlife habi-
tat enhancement directly related to public use such
as stream improvement to improve fishing or activi-
ties to facilitate watchable wildlife programs, and
public safety programs related to visitor use, but not
including administrative overhead.
‘‘(7) TRANSITION PERIOD.—The term ‘transi-
tion period’ means the period beginning on the date
of the enactment of this section and terminating at
the end of the sixth complete fiscal year beginning
after such date.
‘‘(8) PRE-1995
AUTHORIZED
RECREATION
RE-
CEIPTS.—The term ‘pre-1995 authorized recreation
receipts’ means the receipts that would have been re-
ceived for a fiscal year from fees collected under sec-
tion 4 of the Land and Water Conservation Fund
Act of 1965 as such section was in effect on the day
before the date of the enactment of the Visitor Serv-
ices Improvement and Outdoor Legacy Act of 1995.
‘‘(9) INCENTIVE-BASED
FEE
RECEIPTS.—The
term ‘incentive-based fee receipts’ means receipts for
a fiscal year from recreation fees collected under this
section.
‘‘(10) 
TRANSITION
RECREATION
FEE
RE-
CEIPTS.—The term ‘transition recreation fee re-
ceipts’ means incentive-based fee receipts less pre-
1995 authorized recreation receipts.
‘‘(c) ESTABLISHMENT.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—In order to improve the
quality of the recreation experience on Federal
lands, the administering Secretaries shall establish
and implement a fee program in accordance with
this section which provides for substantial recovery
of the costs of recreational services provided through
fees paid by the public, including admission fees,
recreation use fees, and concession fees. In carrying
out such program, the administering Secretaries are
authorized and directed to collect admission fees in
accordance with this section at areas of concentrated
public use and at other areas designated by Act of
Congress, including (but not limited to) wilderness
areas, areas designated as components of the wild
and scenic rivers system, and national conservation
areas. In addition, the administering Secretaries
shall collect fees under this section for recreational
services. The administering Secretary shall consider
the effectiveness of the manager of areas in carrying
out this section in conducting annual performance
review of the manager.
‘‘(2) FACTORS IN ESTABLISHING AMOUNT OF
FEES.—All fees established pursuant to this section
shall be fair and equitable, taking into consideration
the direct and indirect cost to the Government, the
benefits to the recipient, the public policy or interest
served, the comparable recreation fees charged by
other public and private entities, the economic and
administrative feasibility of fee collection, conven-
ience to the recreation user and other pertinent fac-
tors.
‘‘(3) NOTICE OF FEES.—Clear notice that a fee
has been established pursuant to this section, and
the amount thereof, shall be prominently posted at
appropriate locations in each area and shall be in-
cluded in agency publications distributed with re-
spect to such areas.
‘‘(4) ADJUSTMENTS.—The administering Sec-
retaries are authorized to make adjustments in the
fees authorized in subsection (d), taking into ac-
count the factors specified in paragraph (2). No
such adjustment shall become effective prior to 60
days from the date notification of such proposed ad-
justment is received by the appropriate congressional
committees. All proposals for adjustments in fees or
establishment of new fee collection sites (other than
demonstration areas under subsection (m)) devel-
oped subsequent to the date of enactment of this
section shall be included in the annual report re-
quired by subsection (l).
‘‘(5) TARGET RECREATION REVENUE GOALS.—
After the transition period, the administering Sec-
retary shall annually develop a target recreation rev-
enue goal for each area administered by the Sec-
retary which reflects the estimated ability for such
area to collect recreation fees. The administering
Secretary shall develop that target based on histori-
cal data, projected visitation, and such other data as
are available to the Secretary.
‘‘(d) RECREATION FEES.—
‘‘(1) SINGLE
ADMISSION
VISITS.—Reasonable
admission fees for a single visit to any designated
area shall be established by the administering Sec-
retary. A ‘single visit’ means a more or less continu-
ous stay within a designated area. Payment of a sin-
gle visit admission fee shall authorize exits from and
reentries to a single designated area for a period of
from one to fifteen days, such period to be defined
for each designated area by the administering Sec-
retary based upon a determination of the period of
time reasonably and ordinarily necessary for such a
single visit. The single visit entrance fee for private
parties and commercial tours shall be set by the ad-
ministering Secretaries and may be adjusted, taking
into account the factors specified in subsection
(c)(2). The Secretaries shall ensure that the admis-
sion fee schedule developed provides economic incen-
tives for use of alternative modes of mass transpor-
tation at areas experiencing high levels of automobile
traffic.
‘‘(2) ANNUAL
ADMISSION
PERMITS: GOLDEN
EAGLE PASSPORT.—(A) For admission into any area
at which fees are charged pursuant to this section,
an admission permit, to be known as the ‘Golden
Eagle Passport’, valid for the 12-month period be-
ginning on the date of sale, shall be available. The
fee for the passport shall be set jointly by the ad-
ministering Secretaries, taking into account the fac-
tors specified in subsection (c)(2). The permittee
and all persons accompanying the permittee in a sin-
gle, private, noncommercial vehicle, or alternatively,
the permittee and the permittee’s spouse, children,
and parents accompanying the permittee where
entry to the area is by any means other than a pri-
vate noncommercial vehicle, shall be entitled to gen-
eral admission into any area designated pursuant to
this section. The permit shall be nontransferable,
and the unlawful use thereof shall be punishable in
accordance with regulations established pursuant to
subsection (g). The permit shall be available for pur-
chase at any such designated area.
‘‘(B) The administering Secretaries may au-
thorize units of State or local government, organiza-
tions, businesses, and nonprofit entities to sell and
collect fees for the Golden Eagle Passport, subject to
such conditions as the Secretaries may jointly pre-
scribe. The Secretaries shall develop detailed guide-
lines for promotional advertising of non-Federal
passport sales and monitor compliance with those
guidelines. The Secretaries may authorize the seller
or sellers to maintain an inventory of Golden Eagle
Passports for periods not to exceed six months and
to withhold amounts up to, but not exceeding, eight
percent of the gross fees collected from Golden
Eagle Passport sales as reimbursement for actual
expenses of the sales.
‘‘(3) ANNUAL
GEOGRAPHIC
ADMISSION
PER-
MITS.—For admission into a specific designated unit
or into several specific units located in a particular
geographic area at which fees are charged pursuant
to this section, the administering Secretary or Sec-
retaries are authorized to make available an annual
admission permit. The permit shall convey the privi-
leges of, and shall be subject to the same terms and
conditions as, the Golden Eagle Passport, except
that it shall be valid only for admission into the spe-
cific units indicated at the time of purchase.
‘‘(4) RECREATION USE FEES.—Each agency de-
veloping, administering, providing, or furnishing at
Federal expense services for such activities as camp-
ing, including back country camping under permit,
swimming sites, boat launch facilities, managed
parking lots, motorized recreation use and other
recreation uses, shall, in accordance with this section
provide for the collection of recreation use fees at
the place of use or any reasonably convenient loca-
tion.
‘‘(e) ESTABLISHMENT OF ACCOUNTS AND DEPOSIT
OF RECREATION FEES.—
‘‘(1) 
ESTABLISHMENT.—The 
administering
Secretary shall establish a special account in the
Treasury for each agency which collects recreation
fees under this section. Within each such account,
the administering Secretary shall separately account
for receipts and disbursements of funds for each
area.
‘‘(2) DEPOSITS.—(A) The administering Sec-
retary shall deposit in each agency account—
‘‘(i) during each fiscal year of the transi-
tion period an amount equal to the transition
recreation fee receipts collected and amounts
appropriated under subsection (o)(2) (relating
to pre-1995 recreation fee receipts); and
‘‘(ii) after the transition period, an amount
equal to all incentive-based fee receipts col-
lected.
‘‘(B) During the transition period, the admin-
istering Secretary shall allocate to an area the
amount of transition recreation fee receipts collected
with respect to the area and amounts appropriated
for the area under subsection (o)(2) (relating to pre-
1995 recreation fee receipts).
‘‘(C) Within such agency account for fiscal
years following the transition period, the administer-
ing Secretary shall credit to an area—
‘‘(i) an amount up to 75 percent of the
total Federal costs of providing recreational
services at that area; and
‘‘(ii) one-third of the amount of recreation
fees collected from the area which exceeds the
target recreation revenue goal specified in sub-
section (c)(5) for that area.
‘‘(D) All funds from the sale of the Golden
Eagle Passport shall be divided among the agencies
based on a formula to be developed by the admin-
istering Secretaries. Such formula shall consider
such factors as total recreation fees collected by the
agency and total recreation use provided by the
agency. Funds from the sale of the Golden Eagle
Passport shall be deposited as recreation fees col-
lected into the appropriate agency account.
‘‘(E) All funds from the sale of geographic ad-
mission permits under subsection (d)(3) shall be di-
vided among the areas for which such permits were
issued on the basis of visitor use and shall be depos-
ited as recreation fees collected from areas into the
appropriate agency account.
‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds deposited into ac-
counts under this subsection may only be used to
fund programs in direct support of recreational serv-
ices on Federal lands.
‘‘(4) AVAILABILITY.—Funds deposited into ac-
counts established pursuant to this section shall be
available without further appropriation and shall be
expended in the same manner as funds allocated by
Congress to that agency for similar purposes.
‘‘(f) ACCOUNTABILITY OF FUNDING.—The Comptrol-
ler General of the United States shall conduct periodic au-
dits to ensure that amounts received under this section
are fully accounted for and not diverted to administrative
overhead or other programs not directly related to visitor
recreational services.
‘‘(g) ENFORCEMENT
OF FEE COLLECTION POLI-
CIES.—In accordance with the provisions of this section,
the administering Secretaries may prescribe rules and reg-
ulations for areas under their administration for the col-
lection of any fee established pursuant to this section. Per-
sons authorized by the administering Secretaries to en-
force any such rules or regulations issued under this sec-
tion may, within areas under the administration or author-
ity of such administering Secretary and with or, if the of-
fense is committed in his presence, without a warrant, ar-
rest any person who violates such rules and regulations.
Any person so arrested may be tried and sentenced by the
United States magistrate specifically designated for that
purpose by the court by which he was appointed, in the
same manner and subject to the same conditions as pro-
vided in subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) of section 3401
of title 18, United States Code. Any violations of the rules
and regulations issued under this subsection shall be pun-
ishable by a fine as provided by law.
‘‘(h) NON-FEDERAL RESERVATIONS.—The admin-
istering Secretary, under such terms and conditions as he
deems appropriate, may contract with any public or pri-
vate entity to provide visitor reservation services. Any such
contract may provide that the contractor shall be per-
mitted to deduct a commission to be fixed by the agency
head from the amount charged the public for providing
such services and to remit the net proceeds therefrom to
the contracting agency.
‘‘(i) USE OF VOLUNTEERS FOR FEE COLLECTION.—
When authorized by the administering Secretary, volun-
teers at designated areas may collect fees authorized or
established pursuant to this section. The administering
Secretary shall ensure that such volunteers have adequate
training for this purpose. The administering Secretary
shall require a surety bond for any such volunteer per-