The Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest is seeking your comments on four proposals to increase or add fees to the following recreation areas:

• Hickey Gap Campground
• Dockery Lake Campground
• Trembling Bridge Shooting Range
• Cedar Creek Shooting Range

Hickey Gap Campground

The Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest is planning to charge an $8 per site per night fee for overnight camping at Hickey Gap Campground. Currently, this campground is free of charge. Hickey Gap has five creek-side campsites which include a tent pad, lantern post, picnic table and fire ring. In addition, a vault toilet and garbage collection are provided for visitor convenience. Funds from the campground will be used for the continued operation and maintenance of Hickey Gap Campground. If approved, Hickey Gap Campground will start charging fees in January, 2010.

Dockery Lake Campground

The Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest is planning to increase fees from $8 per site per night to $10 per site per night for overnight camping at Dockery Lake Campground. This campground has eleven lake-side campsites, each with a parking spur, tent pad, fire ring, picnic table and lantern post. It also offers drinking water, toilets, picnic sites and a fishing pier. Funds will be used to make improvements to the Dockery Lake Campground. If approved, Dockery Lake Campground will increase fees in January, 2010.

Trembling Bridge Shooting Range and Cedar Creek Shooting Range

The Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest is planning to charge fees at two proposed shooting range sites. One of the sites, Trembling Bridge Shooting Range, is planned for reconstruction to improve services, amenities and experiences. The other site, Cedar Creek Shooting Range, is being planned for construction. Funds from fees would be used for the continued operation and maintenance of these recreation sites. Trembling Bridge and Cedar Creek Shooting Ranges will be available for target practice. Amenities proposed for these facilities would include a 100 yard shooting range, parking area for ten to twenty vehicles, pathways, security fencing, a toilet, shooting shed, and benches, all which would all be accessible. A financial analysis has been completed to determine the fee of $5 per person per day, for those over the age of 16 years. Youth, 16 and under, will be allowed to use the ranges for free and must be accompanied by an adult. Fees would help to provide security, operations and maintenance funds. In addition, the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest is also planning to offer a $25 per person per year Annual Special Recreation Permit which would allow unlimited use of shooting ranges on the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest for a period of one year. If approved, Trembling Bridge and Cedar Creek Shooting Ranges will start charging fees upon their (re)construction completion.

Proposed fees were determined based on the level of amenities and services provided, cost of operation and maintenance, market assessment, and public comment. The fees listed are only proposed and will be determined upon further analysis and public comment.

All fee change proposals will be presented before a citizen’s advisory committee, called the Recreation Resource Advisory Committee, or RRAC. Committee members represent a broad array of recreation interest groups to help ensure that the Forest Service is proposing reasonable and publicly acceptable fee changes. Committee members will help ensure that the Forest Service addresses public issues and concerns about recreation fees.

For more information about any of these fee change proposals, please submit your comments or questions to:

Alison Koopman
Developed Recreation Program Manager
Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests
1755 Cleveland Highway
Gainesville, GA 30501


Phone: (770) 297-3030