Park Offers Two Additional Public Meetings to Talk About Recreation Fee Increase Proposal

Public Meeting participants views Posters explaining proposal to increase park recreation fees

LFriar National Park Service

News Release Date: December 19, 2014

Contact: General Information, 305-242-7700

Contact: Media Contact Linda Friar, 305-242-7714

Contact: Program Contact: Michael Michener, 305-242-7739

Public comment is appreciated and is being considered. This chart indicates potential changes based on comment received in the previous meetings [updated information is shown in bold italics, note- these proposed fees will be vetted by the public and the NPS by January 30, 2015 and implementation phased in over 2 years through 2017]:

Type of Recreation Fee	Current	Proposed
Vehicle Entrance	$10 (7 day permit)	$25 (7 day permit) [2015: $20 & 2017: $25]
Pedestrian/Cyclist	$5 (7 day permit)	$8
Motorcycle	$5 (7 day permit)	$20 (7 day permit) [2015: $15 & 2017: $20]
Annual Pass	$25	$50 [$40]
RV w/ Hookups/Senior	$30/$15	No Change
Front Country Camping/Senior	$16	$20/$10
Back Country Camping	$10	$15
Group Site	$30	No Change
*Annual Boat Ramp	$60	Replaced w/ Boat Permit
Boating Permit 7-day	Not in place	$25
Boating Permit Annual	Not in place	($50-100) [$50-$75] ($75)
Canoe Permit/ Senior	$3/$1.5	Eliminate
Dry Tortugas Entrance Fee	$5	$10
Dry Tortugas Camping	$3 per person, per night	$10 [$15 flat rate]
Biscayne Camping (Boca Chita & Elliot Key)	$20	$24

 

December 19, 2014 – UPDATE– Additional information is provided below on two additional public meetings on proposed park fee increases, being held on January 12 in Naples and January 15 in Homestead. 

 

MONDAY, JANUARY 12, 2015 (6:00 – 8:00 p.m.): Rookery Bay National Estuarine Reserve, 300 Tower Road, Naples Florida 34113. Telephone: [phone]https://rookerybay.org/visit/plan-your-visit.html

 

Directions:
From the South, Including Miami: Take I-75 (Alligator Alley) north to old exit 15, NEW exit #101. At the exit, make a left onto Collier Boulevard, CR 951 (heading toward Marco Island). Follow approximately 5 - 7 miles, across the intersection at US 41 South. Once thru the intersection, approximately 1 mile on your right will be Comcast. That is Tower Road. Make a right onto Tower Road and a left into the parking lot.

 

From the North, Including Tampa and Ft. Myers airport: Take I-75 south to old exit 15, NEW exit # 101. At the exit, bear right onto Collier Boulevard, CR 951 (heading toward Marco Island). Follow approximately 5 - 7 miles, across the intersection at US 41 South. Once thru the intersection, approximately 1 mile on your right will be Comcast. That is Tower Road. Make a right onto Tower Road and a left into our parking lot.

 

THURSDAY, JANUARY 15:2015 (6:30 – 8:30 p.m.): Homestead Agricultural Center, 18710 SW 288th Street, Homestead, Florida 33030. Telephone: [phone] ext. 0

 

Directions:  http://directory.ifas.ufl.edu/Dir/searchdir?pageID=2&uid=A23

Traveling south on the Florida Turnpike (Homestead Extension), take Exit #5 (Biscayne Drive / SW 288th Street), and go west for about 5 miles. The Extension Office is at the corner of SW 288th Street and SW 187th Avenue (Redland Road), on the left. It is a one-story, beige, block building.

 

--------------------------------------------This Updates Release Issued December 1, 2014 (Below)--------------------------------

Everglades and Dry Tortugas National Parks Seeking Input on Proposed Park Fee Increases

Date: December 1, 2014

Miami/Homestead: In September 2014, the National Park Service authorized all park units to engage the public and stakeholders on proposed fee increases as part of the 2014 National Park Service fee review. A large portion (80 percent) of national park entrance and other user fees are returned directly to the parks where they are collected. The fees provide direct benefits to park visitors such as improving the condition of facilities, natural and cultural resource preservation, and interpretation of the park’s resources.

Over the past few months park managers analyzed entrance fees across similar units of the National Park System, especially parks of similar size and visitation, as well as conducted comparisons with state and local park facilities with similar services. The proposed fee increases will bring Everglades and Dry Tortugas National Parks in much better alignment with fees charged at similar national park areas as well as similar services provided at state and local park facilities.

Unlike other similar national parks across the country, Everglades has not raised its parkwide fees during regular fee reviews conducted in 2007 and 2013. Everglades has not had a fee increase since 1997. Due to years of static fees and reduced operating budgets Everglades has a significant backlog of maintenance needs on all park infrastructure. In addition to general wear and tear, Everglades received significant impacts from the hurricanes of 2005 that added to this maintenance and repair backlog.

In order to bring the park into a more comparative position for similar service, fee increases are being proposed for a number of fee areas including: park entrance, annual pass and camping. A new boating permit linked with an online boating education system will replace current boat ramp permits and canoe permits will be eliminated.

Several public meetings are scheduled before the end of the year as well as opportunities to comment by email or mail. Public input will help the park develop a plan on whether to implement a single or multi-phase approach in implementing increases.

DATE	DAY	LOCATION	TIME
December 9, 2014	TUESDAY	Homestead Agriculture Center 18710 SW 288th Street, Homestead, FL 33030	6:30-8:30 p.m.
December 11, 2014	THURSDAY	Eco Discovery Center 35 East Quay Road, Key West, FL 33040	6:30–8:30 p.m.
December 15, 2014	MONDAY	Key Largo Library 101485 Overseas Highway, Key Largo, FL 33037	6:00–8:00 p.m. td>

"We invite everyone to comment on these proposed entrance fee increases" stated acting Superintendent Bob Krumenaker. "Public participation is vital to the NPS planning and decision making processes".

Following the comment period, a recommendation on fee increases will be developed and submitted to the National Park Service Washington D.C. office for final review and action.

Written comments may be mailed to: Proposed Fee Increase, Superintendent, Everglades and Dry Tortugas National Parks, 40001 State Road 9336, Homestead, FL 33034-6733. Comments may also be emailed to:e-mail us. Comments must be received by close of business January 15, 2015.

Two public meetings have also been scheduled to provide the public the opportunity to discuss these proposed fees. An additional meeting will be added to the schedule for Key West.

The proposed fee increases are as follows:

Type of Recreation Fee

Current

Proposed

Vehicle Entrance

$10 (7 day permit)

$25 (7 day permit)

Pedestrian/Cyclist

$5 (7 day permit)

$8 (7 day permit)

Motorcycle

$5 (7 day permit)

$20 (7 day permit)

Annual Pass

$25

$50

RV w/Hookups/Senior

$30/$15

No Change

Front Country- Camping

$16

$20

Back Country Camping

$10

$15

*Annual Boat Ramp

$60

Replaced w/ Boat Permit

Boating Permit 7-day

Not in place

$25

Boating Permit Annual

Not in place

($50-100)

Canoe Permit/Senior

$3/$1.5

Eliminate

Dry Tortugas Entrance Fee

$5

$10

Dry Tortugas Camping

$3

$10

Biscayne Camping (Boca Chita & Elliott Key)

$20

$24

This and other park news releases are available at https://www.nps.gov/ever/parknews/newsreleases.htm

More information on Everglades National Park can be found on the park website athttps://www.nps.gov/ever

-EVER-

About the National Park Service: More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 401 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov.