Fee Increase Proposal for Red Rock

It keeps getting better: Red Rock fee increase proposal

Here's the plan from the BLM: BLM Business Plan

Comments on the proposal accepted until  22-July.

Was heading here to post the same thing.  All that's left at this point is for them to propose no longer accepting the national parks pass so that everyone has to pay an entry fee or buy the red rock pass. 

I think the most comical thing in this proposal is "Out of 5,089 ratings and reviews, nearly 4,500 are 4- and 5-star ratings." regarding the timed entry ticket service...they actually tried to write that as if it is a good thing to pay a reservation fee lol.

$2-3 fees to make mandatory reservations?

$15000 for reservation posts at each campground site?

$100000 for a BLM mobile app?

They’re saying it only costs 2k to paint the bathrooms but 160k to install signs around the trails. They said that’s also for new kiosks, which I’m unaware of any news kiosks since 2018. Many of the trail signs are uprooted and falling over. They’re just a dinky, hollow plastic tube. They made metal ones to mark trailheads and those are nice.

And reservations posts at campsites?? You mean that 2 foot tall wood beam with a clip board thing to hold your camping slip to show the site is taken?? 15-20k????

Scrap the mobile app. They already said in the plan that recreation.gov was adequate to provide real time updates about closures, news, etc.

I see zero dollars mentioned going towards graffiti cleanup or litter pickup/enforcement. Doggy poo bags left all over the trails by the dozens alongside the Starbucks cups and everything else is disgusting. Mostly in Calico Basin and First Pullout, but everywhere, sadly. There are no (or not enough) trash cans in a couple of key locations. Namely First Creek Canyon trailhead. I know this one is specifically not inside the loop/park.

I think for me, if they want to raise prices then it must include working on the above two issues first and foremost. Graffiti cleanup and Figuring out some way to educate the public to not litter here.

My third most important point of view is that trail maintenance is performed in a way that naturally tends to keep more people from trampling the plants and wandering just all over the place. I think the short signs (not a trail) (give plants a chance) that places like Zion have in key locations would go a long ways to reminding the average hiker that the desert is fragile and should be treaded lightly on. 

Regarding their mention of the numerous 5 star reviews. Those reviews are not reflecting on the reservation system as is intended. They are reflecting on Red Rock Canyon itself. Red Rock Canyon is a 5 star area, but the reservation system itself is not. That data is massively skewed. 

I am planning to attend the in-person meeting at Rainbow Library!

Meeting times:

•  July 6 from 5-7 p.m. at the Rainbow Library, 3150 N Buffalo Dr, Las Vegas, NV 89128
• July 7 virtual meeting from 6-7:30 p.m. 

Be sure to register if you plan to attend the online meeting: https://blm.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_k6kFDoeeTTq0k9yHkhB7-Q.

It appears to me that this is the public process the BLM needed to go through before implementing the amenity fee as part of the reservation system. If my interpretation is correct, the lack of public input is the reason the judge involved in the lawsuit stopped the fee. The $2 amenity fee is a recreation.gov commission for Booz Allen Hamilton. 

I typically purchase the interagency pass annual pass, so personally, the fee increases are not a huge concern of mine. Though it could act as yet another barrier for disadvantaged people to access public land. My concern is the $2 amenity fee needed to make each reservation. Again, that money goes to a Booz Allen Hamilton, a multi-billion dollar privatized spy organization. That's a steep cost for the use of an app! 

I’ve edited my original comment to be more constructive. I love Red Rock. I also remind myself that it is a National Conservation Area.

I like to ask myself what that means to me? That a large country has decided a portion or land should be conserved for current and future generations enjoyment. 

I just want the funds spent in that effort.

But I also want anyone to be able to access the lands regardless of economic status and so I feel that the money should come from taxes rather than fees. 

Alex Fletcher wrote:

I’ve edited my original comment to be more constructive. I love Red Rock. I also remind myself that it is a National Conservation Area.

I like to ask myself what that means to me? That a large country has decided a portion or land should be conserved for current and future generations enjoyment. 

I just want the funds spent in that effort.

But I also want anyone to be able to access the lands regardless of economic status and so I feel that the money should come from taxes rather than fees. 

The basic problem may be that it's the BLM we're talking about. Formerly known as the Grazing Service. So its operations have always been fee-based. Do they even have a recreation access mandate like the NPS?

Paul Morrison wrote:

The basic problem may be that it's the BLM we're talking about. Formerly known as the Grazing Service. So its operations have always been fee-based. Do they even have a recreation access mandate like the NPS?

Yes, they still have a recreation mandate.  It's in their RMP (Resource Management Plan https://www.blm.gov/programs/national-conservation-lands/nevada/red-rock-canyon/management-and-planning/rmp), specifically stated right on page one (https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/uploads/Nevada-Red%20Rock%20Canyon-RMP-Chapter%201.pdf)

Just because the BLM manages this land they are still bound by legislation governing all public lands, as a federal land management agency.