| Contacts: | Denise Adamic 719-269-8553 |
BLM to increase fees at Shelf Road Campground (02-15-12)
CAÑON CITY, Colo. – The Bureau of Land Management’s Royal Gorge Field Office (RGFO) will increase use fees for the two Shelf Road campgrounds, The Bank and Sand Gulch, north of Cañon City.
Beginning March 1, fees at both locations will increase from $4 to $7 for individual sites, and from $8 to $14 for group sites.
“The current campground fees were established in 1995. Until now, we haven’t raised fees to reflect the increasing visitation or the growing costs of operating and maintaining our facilities at the Shelf Road Recreation Area,” said Keith Berger, Royal Gorge Field Manager. “We’ll use the additional fees to upgrade restrooms, campsites, roads, and signs.”
Both The Bank and Sand Gulch campgrounds offer individual campsites that include tent pads, kitchen areas with picnic tables and campfire grates, and parking areas. Each campground also has one large group campsite, one vault toilet, visitor information kiosk, fee station, access road, and hiking trails.
In May 2009, the RGFO began asking for public input about increasing fees in the Shelf Road Recreation Area. Notices were posted at the recreation sites, as well as in Front Range newspapers and the Federal Register. The RGFO received more than 40 comments. Several commenters said that an increase from $4 to $10 as originally proposed was too high. BLM adjusted its fee proposal to reflect the public’s input, lessening the amount of increase from $4 to $7, and republished the fee proposal in the Federal Register in Dec. 2011. The RGFO presented the fee proposal at the Front Range Resource Advisory Council (RAC) meeting in Jan. 2012, where the public was invited to comment once more. The RAC unanimously approved the revised fee increase proposal.
Limestone cliffs are the major characteristic of the Shelf Road Recreation Area. These cliffs provide regionally and internationally significant sport rock climbing opportunities. Horseback riding, mountain biking, hiking, and motorized recreation on the trail and road systems there are also popular activities. In 2008, the Shelf Road Recreation Area received approximately 64,000 visitors – a threefold increase since 2005. The maintenance costs for the campgrounds have increased by more than 25 percent since 2006.
For further information about these fees or any recreational opportunities the RGFO offers, please, contact Kalem Lenard at 719-269-8538 or at jlenard@blm.gov
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs. The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends. In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates on a $1.1 billion budget. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
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