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Recreation Site Facility Master
Planning and Proposed Lake Como Fee Increase
Hamilton, MT
The Bitterroot National Forest is inviting
people to help evaluate the Forest’s developed recreation
program to ensure managers are focusing on visitors’
priorities while providing a quality recreation experience
at campgrounds, picnic areas, boat launches, and developed
trailheads. Public input is needed by January 31st.
Each National Forest in the nation is taking
steps to prioritize the management of its recreation facilities.
The process, known as the Recreation Site Facility Master
Planning (RS-FPM), will result in a five-year program of work
that will focus the Forest Service’s management of developed
recreation sites to provide the best recreation opportunities,
in the right places, based on the realities of current budgets,
resource needs, and current and expected user preferences.
“The Forest is committed to responsibly
serving the public by efficiently operating and, when necessary,
modifying the services we offer to ensure recreation sites
provide the right opportunities in the right places,”
said Forest Supervisor Dave Bull.
“All of the developed recreation sites
on the Bitterroot are proposed for continued operation,”
stated Sue Heald, Forest Recreation Staff Officer. “However,
considering the increases we are seeing in use coupled with
the decline we are experiencing in our operating budgets,
we cannot continue to manage all sites at the same level we
have in the past. Possible scenarios we have looked at include
implementing shorter operating seasons, reducing the services
provided such as drinking water or picnic tables, or seeking
partners and volunteers to help maintain sites.”
Part of the planning process is to consider
recreation fees to help manage public needs. A minimum of
80% of recreation fees collected on Forest are invested back
into the Bitterroot’s fee sites. For the 2007 season
the Forest is proposing a fee increase at the Lake Como Recreation
Area. The proposed day use fee would be $5.00 per vehicle
and the season pass $30.00 per vehicle (plus $5.00 for one
extra vehicle per family). The Lake Como day and season fees
have not been increased from the original fees of $2.00 per
day or $20 per season since they were put in place in 1998.
The Forest has used the Lake Como Recreation
fees to provide additional patrols, install new picnic tables,
complete maintenance work such as repairing tables and fire
rings, and to construct new parking lots for the beach area
and for Rock Creek Trailhead. “These are on-the-ground
improvements that would not have been possible without the
fees we collect on site. Our list of projects continues to
grow as the does the use,” said Chuck Oliver, Darby
District Ranger.
The Bitterroot Forest has completed preliminary work for the
RS-FMP 5 Year Program of Work. The Forest will host a “Lunch
and Learn” presentation and open house on January 24th
from 12:00 – 2:00 to present their initial ideas. The
meeting will be held at the Forest Supervisor’s Office
on North 1st Street in Hamilton and participants are invited
to bring a brown bag lunch, hear the Forest’s preliminary
ideas and visit with recreation program managers.
Other options exist for those who cannot make
this meeting. A summary of this information is available for
public review on the Bitterroot National Forest Web page (see
address, below) and at all offices. Forest staff members are
available to make presentations to groups to provide people
with a chance to review the proposed five year program of
work and discuss the proposals with forest managers.
“We would like to give everyone a chance
to look over the program we are proposing, and to help us
explore creative ways to continue providing recreation opportunities
that are sustainable over time,” stated Sue Heald. For
more information please visit our web page at htttp://www.fs.fed.us/r1/bitterroot/recreation
or to schedule a presentation contact Sue Heald at 363-7100
or Mary Laws at 821-4252.
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