Last month, the Forest Service quietly released a plan to hand over management of 52 recreation sites throughout the Los Padres National Forest to a private, for-profit concessionaire. Fees would significantly increase at these sites as much as 300% with no increase in amenities, and the federal Adventure Pass would no longer be honored at any of these sites. The plan – scheduled to be approved next week – would apply to popular campgrounds, day use areas, and some trailheads in Santa Barbara, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, and Monterey counties.

Very few people seemed to know about the plan until the Forest Service issued a press release on October 5 announcing its intent to award a Special Use Permit to Parks Management Company to take over the operation and management of these sites. Forest officials prepared a two-page letter on September 2 announcing the plan to the public and inviting public comments by the end of the month, but failed to mail the letter to interested individuals and organizations. It was not listed in the agency’s quarterly listing of proposed actions. Nor did the agency issue a press release or make any other public announcement about the comment period.

As a result, very few members of the public actually knew about the proposal with far-reaching implications for public lands throughout our region. The Forest Service received very few public comments as a result. ForestWatch has requested copies of the comment letters the agency received during the comment period, and we are still awaiting the agency’s response.

Currently, several recreation facilities in the Los Padres National Forest are opera♦ted by concessionaires, including camps and day use facilities in the Santa Ynez River Recreation Area, the Big Sur Coast, Wheeler Gorge near Ojai, Mt. Pinos near Frazier Park, and Cerro Alto between San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay.

The new plan, however, would expand the number of sites managed by concessionaires, covering nearly every developed recreation site in the forest. Overnight fees will increase at most sites, day use fees will be charged for those who simply want to park and take an afternoon hike, and the Adventure Pass will no longer be accepted at any of them.

While the formal comment period (the one nobody knew about) is closed, the public can still submit comments to the Forest Service until the agency issues the concessionaire permit, which is expected any day. Comments may be sent to:

Jeff Bensen, Assistant Recreation Officer

Los Padres National Forest

6750 Navigator Way Ste 150

Goleta CA 931117

jbensen@fs.fed.us (email your comments to ensure timely delivery)

You may wish to make the following points in your letter:

Far-reaching proposals like this should only be undertaken through a transparent process that encourages and promotes early public input and participation and a thorough analysis of alternatives.

Higher fees will drive campers to seek out remote, informal campsites that could create unsanitary conditions, pollute mountain streams, and harm sensitive wildlife habitat.

The proposal poses a safety hazard, as people will park along the edges of roads and highways (think Highway 1 along the Big Sur coast) to avoid having to pay a $10 entrance fee for a picnic.

If the public is going to pay higher fees to use these sites, there should be a proportionate increase in the services and amenities offered at them.

Private companies should not be able to dictate whether federal passes (like the Adventure Pass) are valid on public lands.

Increasing fees by as much as 300% bears a disproportionate impact on forest users with limited incomes.

Management of recreation sites is one of the primary responsibilities of the Forest Service. It is inappropriate to transfer that authority to a private, for-profit corporation that is not subject to the same rules of transparency and public accountability as public agencies.

ForestWatch is partnering with a variety of outdoor organizations to review and respond to the proposal. On October 17, we submitted a letter to the Forest Service signed by ten Central Coast conservation and outdoor recreation organizations voicing these concerns. The groups include Los Padres ForestWatch, Keep the Sespe Wild, three Sierra Club chapters, California Chaparral Institute, Naturalist for You, Ventura County Boondockers, and Wild Wilderness. Within the same week, as concerned residents learned more about this proposal through our website, the Forest Service has received more than 130 letters and emails expressing a variety of concerns.

We would welcome an opportunity to work proactively with the Forest Service to craft a reasonable program that improves the outdoor recreation experience while respecting public input and acknowledging the Forest Service’s budget constraints. The current process – minimizing public involvement, handing over the administration of all developed recreation sites to a private for-profit corporation, and avoiding any analysis of alternatives – shuts the public out of the process and will fundamentally change the way the public recreates in our national forest. We urge the Forest Service to take a more inclusive approach that incorporates early and open public involvement and honors the longstanding role that public agencies play in encouraging and facilitating outdoor recreation on our nation’s public lands.

We also urge Congress to adequately fund the Forest Service so that the agency has the resources necessary to full its basic responsibility of managing recreation sites on our shared public lands. ForestWatch encourages everyone to vote for members of Congress who will champion and support our public lands.

Background

Los Padres National Forest officials began utilizing private company concessionaires to manage and operate campgrounds and day use sites in the 1990s in response to falling recreation program budgets. Recreation budgets have fallen 50 percent in the past 10 years, significantly impacting the agency’s ability to provide maintenance, repair and service at recreation sites.

The LPNF has 131 developed campgrounds, day use sites, and trailheads. Of that number, 31 are currently managed by private concessionaires under six separate special use permits. The agency’s new plan would consolidate these into a single permit, expand the number of sites under private concessionaire management from 31 to 52 (all or nearly all of the developed campgrounds and day use sites in the forest), and allow fees to increase at most sites.

While fees are increasing, no improvements or operational changes will be made at these sites, leaving many to wonder where the additional fees go. In its September 2 letter (which nobody seemed to receive), the Forest Service states, “The context of the special use permit is operational and administrative and does not provide authorization for any ground disturbing activities, changes, or physical alterations to the recreation sites. The scope of operation and capacity of the recreation facilities would not change by this action.” The increased fees would be retained by the private concessionaire, minus a percentage that goes back to the Forest Service. At this time it is not known whether the “commission” received by the Forest Service would be put to use in the Los Padres National Forest, and if so, what it would be used for.

Sites under private concessionaire management include:

Monterey Ranger District

Currently Managed Under Concessionaire Permit

Arroyo Seco Family Campground (fees increase from $25 to $30 per night)

Arroyo Seco Group Campground (fees increase from $75 to $125 per night)

Arroyo Seco Dav Use Area (unchanged at $10 per day or $50 annual pass)

Bottcher’s Gap Campground (fees increase from $15 to $20 per night, $10 daily parking fee at trailhead)

Kirk Creek Campground (fees increase from $25 to $35 per night)

Mill Creek Day Use Area (currently no charge, fees increase to $10 per day or $50 annual pass)

Nacimiento Campground (fees increase from $15 to $20 per night)

Pfeiffer Beach Day Use Area (unchanged at $10 per day or $50 annual pass)

Plaskett Creek Family Campground (fees increase from $25 to $35 per night)

Plaskett Creek Group Campground (fees increase from $100 to $150 per night)

Ponderosa Campground (unchanged at $20 per night)

Sand Dollar Day Use Area (unchanged at $10 per day or $50 annual pass)

Willow Creek Day Use Area (currently no charge, fees increase to $10 per day or $50 annual pass)

Proposed Additions to Concessionaire Permit

China Camp Campground (currently no charge, fees increase to $20 per night)

Escondido Campground (currently no charge, fees increase to $20 per night)

Memorial Park Campground (currently no charge, fees increase to $20 per night)

White Oaks Campground (currently no charge, fees increase to $20 per night)

Santa Lucia Ranger District

Currently Managed Under Concessionaire Permit

Cerro Alto Campground (fees increase from $20 to $25 per night, $10 daily parking fee at trailhead)

Proposed Additions to Concessionaire Permit

Davy Brown Campground (currently no charge, fees increase to $20 per night)

Figueroa Campground (currently no charge, fees increase to $20 per night)

La Panza Campground (currently no charge, fees increase to $20 per night)

Navajo Flat Campground/ORV Staging Area (currently no charge, fees increase to $20 per night)

NIRA Campground (currently no charge, fees increase to $20 per night)

Turkey Flat OHV Staging Area/Day Use (currently no charge, fees increase to $20 per night)

Santa Barbara Ranger District

Currently Managed Under Concessionaire Permit

Aliso Trailhead (fees increase from $5 to $10 per day)

Falls Day Use Area (fees increase from $5 to $10 per day)

First Crossing Day Use Area (fees increase from $5 to $10 per day)

Fremont Campground (fees increase from $20 to $30 per night)

Live Oak Day Use Area (fees increase from $5 to $10 per day)

Los Prietos Campground (fees increase from $20 to $30 per night)

Lower Oso Day Use Area (fees increase from $5 to $10 per day)

Paradise Campground (fees increase from $20 to $30 per night)

Red Rock Day Use Area (fees increase from $5 to $10 per day)

Red Rock Trailhead (fees increase from $5 to $10 per day)

Sage Hill Group CG (fees increase from $91 to $125 per night)

Sandstone Day Use Area (fees increase from $5 to $10 per day)

Upper Oso Campground (fees increase from $20 to $30 per night)

White Rock Day Use Area (fees increase from $5 to $10 per day)

Proposed Additions to Concessionaire Permit

none

Ojai Ranger District

Currently Managed Under Concessionaire Permit

Holiday Group Campground (fees increase from $75-100 to $100-125 per night)

Wheeler Gorge Campground (fees increase from $23 to $25 per night)

Proposed Additions to Concessionaire Permit

Middle Lion Campground (fees increase from $5 to $20 per night)

Pine Mountain Campground (fees increase from $5 to $20 per night)

Reyes Peak Campground (fees increase from $5 to $20 per night)

Rose Valley Campground (fees increase from $5 to $20 per night)

Mt. Pinos Ranger District

Currently Managed Under Concessionaire Permit

McGill Family Campground (unchanged at $20 per night)

McGill Group Campground (fees increase from $85 to $100 per night)

Mt. Pinos Campground (unchanged at $20 per night)

Proposed Additions to Concessionaire Permit

Ballinger Campground (increases from $5 to $20 per night)

Campo Alto Campground (Cerro Noroeste) (increases from $5 to $20 per night)

Campo Alto Group Campground (Cerro Noroeste) (increases from $5 to $100 per night)

Chuchupate Campground (increases from $5 to $20 per night)

Reyes Creek Campground (increases from $5 to $20 per night)