Proposed Grand Canyon Backcountry Fee Increase

[DixieFlyer]

https://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHom ... tId=126241

[chumley]

@pseudalpine
Tour buses should be at least $1000. They seat 50 people! Don't land managers always say that large groups have more impact?

[shelby147]

The $1 day hiker fee isn't a new idea

This is actually why the government built the South Kaibab Trail - to avoid Cameron's toll.

Just charge non US residents a $100 entrance fee per rental car.

The problem with this is, short of asking everyone for a passport, the only way to charge international visitors more is racial profiling at the entrance stations. (Edit: Pernell has pointed out that drivers are required to carry drivers licenses... duh)

I have drafted a looong comment for NPS and pasted it below. TLDR: $24 is a lot of money to sleep on the ground!

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I am strongly opposed to the proposed overnight fee increase. I believe the proposed fee (1) will reduce equitable access to public lands, (2) is excessive outside of the corridor zone, and (3) will encourage risky behaviors and increase Search and Rescue (SAR) costs. These points are discussed in more detail below. Finally, I conclude by suggesting public disclosures that should precede any fee increase and several feasible alternatives to the proposal.

(1) While visitors who fly, rent cars, and book hotels on their way to Grand Canyon may consider $24/person/night a small addition to their trip cost, for others this new rate is unaffordable. These high fees make the Grand Canyon backcountry a less accessible location for people who are not wealthy, leading to a less diverse group of visitors. Similarly, the disproportionate impact of the fee increase on frequent canyon hikers (compared to once-in-a-lifetime visitors) will force local hikers out of the park.

Since 2021, I have enjoyed over 200 days of hiking in Grand Canyon. In that time, I have spent over $1,500 on permits (not including the permit costs of hiking partners), with the cost increasing each year. I rarely hike in areas with maintained trails, pit toilets, or established campsites. I have already adjusted my hiking style to save money, by doing more day hikes and fewer overnight trips. My recent hikes have been less satisfying and more aggressive because of previous fee increases. I fear that for people like me - university students and other young people living in Arizona - the remote Grand Canyon backcountry is becoming prohibitively expensive.

(2) Hikers in the corridor have access to upgraded pit and flush toilets, potable water taps, emergency phones and emergency cache boxes, ranger stations, and maintained campsites with picnic tables, food storage boxes, and poles to hang gear on. These trails are maintained for mule travel and are 3+ feet wide with log cribbing steps and cobblestones much of the way. There is also frequent contact with rangers and preventative search and rescue volunteers. Maintaining this safety infrastructure is expensive but provides no benefit to hikers outside the corridor trails.

In contrast, primitive and wild backcountry zones often have no constructed trails, water taps, toilets, or campsites. Roads leading to these areas require high-clearance 4WD, if they even exist. It is truly excessive to spend $24/night to shred your tires on limestone, bushwhack through manzanita, suction water out of potholes, pack out toilet paper, and sleep on the flattest piece of rocky ground you can find.

The overnight backcountry fee at Grand Canyon has tripled since 2021, when it was $8/person/night. In comparison, permits in Olympic National Park are $8/person/night, and hikers have the option to buy an annual $45 pass that covers overnight stays. In Inyo National Forest, which includes much of the Eastern Sierra Nevada range, permits are a flat $6. Permits at Mt Rainier National Park are $26 per trip. In the Enchantments, a high-demand area of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, permits cost $5/person/day. Wilderness areas adjacent to Grand Canyon (Kanab Creek, Saddle Mountain) do not require overnight permits.

(3) Under the proposed fee structure, an overnight hike for one person would cost $34. Such steep costs of entry incentivize more ambitious, dangerous itineraries:
- Day hiking does not require a permit. When some people are faced with the option of a $34 permit for an overnight vs. a very ambitious day trip, they might opt to carry as little gear as possible to go as fast as possible. This means if something doesn't go according to plan, they need SAR help.
- Packrafting on a day trip requires a river-assisted backcountry travel (RABT) permit, which would now cost $34. Swimming across the river does not require a permit. However, several people have drowned trying to swim across the Colorado River in Grand Canyon.
Similarly, because hiker credit - credit for canceled trips which could be applied to a future trip - was done away with in 2023, hikers have a greater incentive to hike during periods of adverse weather. Trips in dangerously hot or dangerously stormy weather are more likely to require SAR help.

Historically, fees from backcountry permits have funded backcountry operations (e.g., Backcountry Information Center, ranger patrols). However, recent proposed fee increases have provided no documentation to justify these increases. Similarly, Grand Canyon’s Backcountry Management Plan dates to 1988 and is badly in need of an update. Before making informed comments on another fee increase, the public requires the Backcountry Management Plan to be updated and specific documentation to be provided regarding the allocation of backcountry fee revenue.

To propose, I suggest three options that could reduce the negative impacts of this fee increase: (1) restore hiker credit for canceled trips, (2) offer an annual backcountry pass for frequent hikers, (3) set a cap for permit fees (e.g., no additional cost after the 3rd night), and/or (4) establish a program to offer free/ reduced-cost permits to hikers with lower financial means.

[chumley]

Where is flagscott when we need him!?