Lake Mead fees could rise

The National Park Service wants to increase fees for all visitors and boaters at Lake Mead National Recreation Area, a move that might be too pricey for some, a special interest group official said Monday.

"Money is tight and people are going to think twice" about visiting lakes Mead and Mohave, said Wen Baldwin, a director of Lake Mead Boat Owners Association.

"I believe they'll get fewer people paying entrance fees."

Baldwin said he understands why park officials want to hike entrance fees: to deal with drastic drops in Lake Mead's level that has forced marinas to move and caused expensive extensions of launch ramps.

Still, he said, "their timing is way off and I don't think they should charge extra for extra vehicles."

A meeting of the boaters' group to discuss fee increases will be held with park officials at 10 a.m. Sunday at the Lake Mead Marina restaurant.

The proposal comes on the heels of increased fees at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation, which were approved by the Bureau of Land Management and will take effect May 1.

National Park Service officials will accept public comments on the Lake Mead fee proposal through June 30. They plan to increase vehicle passes beginning Jan. 1 from $5 for five days to $10 for seven days, and again to $15 for a weeklong pass in 2014.

Watercraft fees would rise from $10 for five days to $16 for seven days, and annual vehicle and lake-use passes would go from $20 to $30. Senior citizens will continue to be charged half the full fees.

Park Superintendent Bill Dickinson said the recreation area's predicament stems from a couple of factors: Funding for improvements to lake facilities is drying up because of the recession; and the lake's level continues to go down as the drought in the Upper Colorado River Basin persists and more water is being used to maintain Lake Powell's level upstream of Lake Mead.

Since fee collections began 10 years ago, funds from the sale of public lands in Southern Nevada have been tapped to pay for moving launch ramps and restroom facilities and for maintaining beaches. In all, the park has spent $36 million to respond to low-water issues. It costs about $6 million every time the lake level drops 20 feet, the park's staff estimates.

"The land sales have dropped way off and right now it's anybody's guess when those might be up in the future," Dickinson said.

"It's easy to see folks in Southern Nevada are being impacted by the economy. Look at the level of unemployment and number of foreclosures."

Nevertheless, he said, it is imperative for the National Park Service to maintain quality access to the park.

"Even with the increase, it's still a good value to visit Lake Mead National Recreation Area," Dickinson said. "You can bring a carload of folks in for $10 and stay for 10 days."

Fees are currently collected at four stations in the park with two more -- one at Lake Mohave's Cottonwood Cove in Nevada and the other at Temple Bar, Ariz., for Lake Mead -- scheduled for full operation by Memorial Day weekend. Each station cost about $1.7 million.

Officials said the park's revenues could increase from $3.6 million to $11.5 million with the fee increases and the two new entrance stations, each of which is projected to rake in $500,000 per year. Eighty percent of the funds are used in the park with the other 20 percent used for projects and programs at national parks that don't charge recreation fees.

A new launch ramp at Echo Bay will be needed later this year, park officials said. They estimate the existing ramp at Callville Bay won't be usable after June, but a new, $2.5 million ramp has been built to ensure boaters can continue to launch a Callville.

Visitors who hold federal access passes such as America the Beautiful or senior annual passes, or one for volunteering 500 hours of service, won't be charged additional entrance fees but will be charged lake use fees.

Written comments on the fee increase proposal can be sent Lake Mead National Recreation Area, ATTN: Proposed Fee Increase, 601 Nevada Way, Boulder City, NV 89005; or submitted at the Web site, http://parkplanning.nps.gov.

Contact reporter Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308.