MENDOCINO NATIONAL FOREST – Starting May 1, fees will be slightly increased at 14 recreation sites on the Mendocino National Forest.

"The fees will help us with the rising costs of operating and maintaining some highly used sites and allow us to repair or replace facilities that have become worn out," said Mendocino National Forest Supervisor Tom Contreras.

Last year the Forest completed the analysis for a proposed five-year program of work for the 64 developed recreation sites on the forest.

The resulting Recreation Facility Analysis guides the forest in eliminating the backlog of deferred maintenance at recreation sites through a variety of management changes at the developed recreation sites.

These changes include increasing fees at 13 campgrounds and one lookout on the forest. Later this year the forest will begin charging a nominal fee at 16 sites which had not previously been managed as fee sites.

The fee changes were reviewed and recommended by the California Recreation Resource Advisory Committee, a federal advisory body for the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management in California, and approved by the Regional Forester. Fee increases will be implemented on May 1.

Most of the fees collected now stay on forest for use at these sites under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act. Eighty percent of the campground fees will go to the operation and maintenance of those campgrounds. Fifteen percent of the fees will go to the collection and enforcement of the fees at those campgrounds.

The remaining 5 percent goes into a fund that the Forest Service can apply for in grants to improve the resources in or adjacent to those campgrounds, such as trails around a lake, interpretive signing, or dealing with soil erosion at recreation sites.

Fees increases will occur beginning May 1 at the following locations:

• Upper Lake Ranger District: Middle Creek Campground, $8.

• Covelo Ranger District: Eel River Campground, $8; and Hammerhorn Campground, $8.

• Grindstone Ranger District (total fee): Main Letts Campground, $12; Mill Valley Campground, $10; Plaskett Campground, $10; Saddle Camp Campground, $12; Spillway Campground, $12; Stirrup Campground, $12; Sycamore Grove Campground, $16; Camp Discovery Group Campground, $175; Gray Pine Group Campground, $75; and Masterson Group Campground, $75.

Later this summer, the Mendocino National Forest also will add other recreation sites to the fee system. These include sites at the following locations:

• Upper Lake Ranger District: Deer Valley Campground, $6; Penny Pines Campground, $6; and Pillsbury Pines Boat Launch, $6.

• Covelo Ranger District: Howard Lake Campground, $6; Howard Meadows Campground, $6; and Little Doe Campground, $6.

• Grindstone Ranger District (total fee): Davis Flat Campground, $5; Dixie Glade Horse Campground, $5; Fouts Campground, $5; Little Stony Campground, $5; Mill Creek Campground, $5; North Fork Campground, $5; South Fork Campground, $5; Lake Red Bluff Boat Launch, $6; and Sacramento River Boat Launch, $6.

For further information on forest recreation sites please contact Forest Recreation Officer Tricia Christofferson at 530-934-3316.

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