Fees fail to deter Desolation Wilderness visitors

Monday, Oct. 20, 1997 | 10:42 a.m.

Overnight hikers seemed to understand and accept the idea of a fee to help offset costs of maintaining the heavily used area, said Don Lane, a U.S. Forest Service recreation specialist. "Now it's the obligation of the Forest Service to show good accountability of the funds," he added.

Desolation was one of 100 federally managed resources in the country to charge a fee this year, in a three-year pilot program to improve funding for popular sites.

For the year, the U.S. Forest Service issued permits for about 60,000 visitor-nights in the 64,000-acre wilderness area, roughly the same as in past years, Lane said.

Overnight permits cost $5 per person for a single night and $10 each for two or more nights. The Forest Service raised about $100,000 from the wilderness permits this year.

Overnight stays increased slightly in the Tahoe Basin part of the wilderness, while overnight use of the area located within Eldorado National Forest dropped about 20 percent.

But Lane attributed the drop in Eldorado, on the west side of Desolation, to flood damage and reconstruction that forced closure of trailheads at Wright and Lyon's lakes.

"Our front-line people were amazed at how accepting visitors were," Lane said. "Many accepted a charge as simply another public area that required a fee. A few questioned it, but said they understood when they heard the explanation for it."

While Desolation is one of the most heavily used wilderness areas in the country for its size, the Forest Service's budget to manage the area had dropped from $240,000 in 1995 to $155,000 in 1996.

Under the fee program, 80 percent of the revenues are intended to remain in the area, paying for maintenance and new services.

This summer, for instance, the Forest Service stationed two rangers at the visitors center to process wilderness permits. In the afternoon, the rangers would serve as naturalists to interpret the natural resources of Emerald Bay.

The Forest Service also cleared about 100 new miles of trails for hikers, and increased patrols at popular locations.