Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act
More and more people recreate on Federally managed lands and waters every year.
Meeting the increasing needs of these visitors, delivering quality recreation, and
protecting our natural and cultural resources has become challenging.
To help address this issue, President Bush signed the Federal Lands Recreation
Enhancement Act (REA). REA permits federal land management agencies to charge
use fees at campgrounds, high-impact recreation areas and at day-use sites that have
certain facilities. REA defined the following fee categories:
Standard Amenity Fees
Examples: Picnic areas, developed
trailheads, destination visitor centers, high
impact recreation areas.
Explanation: Typically, standard amenity
fees are day use fees, often covered by a
day or annual pass. Each site or area must
contain six "amenities," which are picnic
tables, trash, toilet, parking, interpretive
signing and security.
Expanded Amenity Fees
Examples: Campgrounds, highly developed boat launches and swimming areas and services like RV dump stations and reservation services.
Explanation: Provides direct benefits to individuals
or groups.
Special Event Permits
Examples: Non-commercial fishing tournaments, houseboat launching/retrieving and special events. Explanation: Permits are issued when extra measures are required for natural and cultural resource protection, or the health and safety of visitors. They mayalso be used to disperse recreation use or help ensure that the number of visitors does not exceed the capacity of the facilities, lands or waters.
Recreation Enhancement Act Information
In December 2004, Congress enacted the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, which gave federal agencies, including Reclamation, a long-term, multi-agency recreation fee program. Recreation fees provide crucial resources that allow the federal agencies to respond to increased demand on federal lands. The goal is to provide visitors with a quality recreation experience through enhanced facilities and services.
- Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act Legislation Text
Reclamation Directives and Standards
Reclamation has developed Directives and Standards LND 01-02 that set forth the requirements for implementing and managing the REA fee program. This Directives and Standards provides direction to authorized Reclamation offices for collecting and retaining fees, and enhancement of designated recreation sites.
REA Implementation at New Melones Lake
In November 2007, New Melones Lake became Reclamation’s first designated REA
site. New Melones now collects fees and retains a minimum of 80% of the fee revenue
on-site to be used for the enhancement of recreation facilities and services and other
public benefits. Previous fee authority required all revenues to be
deposited into the
Federal Treasury.
Costs to operate and maintain the developed facilities and services, and protect the natural and cultural resources at New Melones have increased substantially due to inflation and additional regulatory requirements, as well as costs to provide for expanding visitation as urban centers grow. Federal appropriations have not grown in response to the expanded needs, resulting in deferred maintenance, cutbacks in services and reduced ability to provide adequate resource protection.
By implementing REA and establishing appropriate use fees for both standard and expanded amenities, such as fees for boat launching, day use and RV dump station use, revenues will be generated and a portion retained for authorized expenditures at New Melones. Financial impacts to frequent users will be lessened by the Interagency Parks Pass program, augmented by site specific discount passes good only for use at New Melones. Special Recreation Use Permits are also included under REA, which enables retention of fees generated from Special Events.
Contact
us for additional information or details
Camping
Reservations
For assistance or additional information about this website, please contact Public Affairs
Bureau of Reclamation, Mid-Pacific Region
2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento CA 95825-1898
Main 916-978-5100 | FAX 916-978-5114 | TTY 916-978-5608
Reclamation
Officials' Telephone Numbers
Last update: September 26, 2012
