Now is the time to buy the 2015 state park pass for holders looking to save a little money, because prices are set to increase by Feb. 15.

That’s the message the division is trying to send right now, said Ray Bivens, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control's Division of Parks and Recreation section administrator.

“There’s still time to get this year’s pass at last year’s prices,” he said.

The 2014 prices include a daily entrance fee for residents of Delaware of $3 for an inland park and $4 for an ocean park; for nonresidents it's $6 and $8. An annual pass for state parks is $27 for residents and $54 for nonresidents. An annual surf fishing tag is $65 for residents and $130 for nonresidents.

When the increase takes place there will be a $1-increase for residents and a $2-increase for nonresidents for daily passes; an $8-increase for residents and a $16-increase for nonresidents for annual passes; and a $15-increase for residents and a $30 increase for nonresidents for surf-fishing tags.

Bivens said the new prices for annual passes and surf-fishing tags are expected to take effect Feb. 15, with the day-use entry fee increasing in March.

Bivens reiterated that the state’s park system has $100 million backlog of deferred maintenance and capital projects, and now is the time to invest if people want to continue to use the parks for the decades to come.

The division has an annual budget of $20.4 million – 65 percent of which comes from user fees. The parks see roughly 5 million visitors a year across the state, with 619 buildings on more than 26,000 acres of land.

The increase in fees is expected to bring in an additional $1.1 million in revenue to the division, none of which will go towards the hiring of new employees.

DNREC hosted a series of informational open houses across the state in early December to present the proposed increase.

Bivens said parks officials went into the open houses willing to tweak things based on suggestions from visitors, but, he said, there was almost no negative feedback so the pricing was kept as presented.

People made suggestions, but not one complaint was received during the open houses, Bivens said.

Bivens said shortly after the open houses, a parks advisory council concluded the proposed increases were acceptable.

Bivens said the last thing required for the increase to become official is to have DNREC Sec. David Small sign the paperwork. He said he didn’t expect any issues.