Oh Be Joyful campground fee proposed

Overnight costs could kick in as soon as 2016

Representatives from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) met with the Gunnison Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) on Tuesday, February 24 to propose an overnight fee be put in place during summer months at Oh Be Joyful campground up Slate River Valley.

The fee is expected to deter campers who plan to poach sites and to reduce environmental impacts due to illegal residential activity at the sites, plus help regularly maintain the sites. Commissioners agreed the proposed $10 nightly fee is a good idea.
BLM outdoor recreation planner Kristi Murphy told the BOCC that Oh Be Joyful campground sees a ton of use. According to a count the BLM conducted in 2011, the campground area gets roughly 50,000 annual visitors.
As the fee proposal states, “Currently, camping at Oh Be Joyful has a higher demand than available developed campsites. The BLM is struggling with public need versus resource protection in the Slate River drainage. Although the campground only has fourteen developed sites, there are about 46 dispersed camping sites—places where visitors can park and/or pitch a tent—in and around the campground. This use causes additional resource damage (impacted vegetation, littering, sanitation issues, damage from off-road use and parking, etc.) due to the high number of campers.”
“What we’re asking for is a $10 fee,” Murphy told commissioners. “It would reduce the impacts and it takes a lot of money to maintain that site. The money goes directly back into the site.”
A BLM press release dated February 17 says designated sites (with a numbered post, parking space, picnic table and fire pit) would cost $10 per night and dispersed sites would cost $5 per night.
County Commissioner Phil Chamberland said he is “certainly in support of [an overnight fee]. It’s for the people. Someone who is looking to pay for a campsite might keep moving if the campground is full.”
Elijah Waters, in from out of town on a 70-day contract as acting field manager for the Gunnison BLM field office, explained that this kind of action doesn’t happen quickly. “It’s a nine- or ten-step process and we’re on step two now, getting input from the public. The public comment period would go through this fall,” Waters said. “Then it goes through the district, the state, the BLM and eventually Washington.”
Commissioner Paula Swenson asked when the fee would go into effect and if there would be plenty of time for the public to know it was coming. Waters did his best to predict a date. “If all the stars aligned we could be implementing a fee as early as 2016.”
Waters told the News that the summer of 2017 is actually more likely, since things probably wouldn’t be ready until mid-summer 2016, and implementing the fee anytime other than at the start of summer would make less sense.
As Chamberland told the BLM, “I think $10 is a nominal fee when people are pulling up with $400 tents and $300 sleeping bags.”
The BLM reports the estimated cost to maintain and patrol the campground, trailhead and resources at about $14,000 per year, including labor, supplies, repairs, transportation and toilets. A permanent camp host would also be hired to reside at the campground and help enforce regulations. The host would be in a volunteer position and would have a free campsite throughout the summer.
Murphy said via phone that the fee proposal will be posted on the BLM website through summer as well as at the campground so people can see it. “If people have questions about our vision for the proposed fee they can contact me. Comments regarding the proposal go to Stuart Schneider,” Murphy said.
Send questions for Murphy to [email protected] and comments for Schneider to [email protected].