User Fees Could Expand From Vail Pass To Other Parts Of Colorado, Including Maroon Bells

(CBS4) - Outdoor recreation has seen a huge boost in Colorado since the start of the pandemic. In the high country, the crowds aren't expected to die down, even as more people become vaccinated.

"A lot of people are really enjoying our public lands and we think this level of use is probably gonna stay with us," said David Boyd, Public Information Officer for the White River National Forest.

The Vail Pass Winter Recreation area is just over an hour from the bulk of the state's population. As a result, it sees some of the heaviest traffic.

"Vail Pass Winter Recreation area is really unique because we have this user fee. So 95% of the fees that we gather here are used specifically here so that allows us to have a lot of rangers and to work with partners on the grooming and things like that," said Boyd.

At Vail Pass, it's $10 per person per day to park or $65 for the season. It's the only recreation area in the state with a user fee on National Forest land. This year, the fees have made it possible to hire 11 full time rangers to help patrol the area.

"We try to provide information, parking assistance and education until about noon every day and then we try to cycle people out too so we can look for avalanches or help people on the side of the trails and just be out there to show people, 'Hey this is great, you're doing the right thing' or 'Hey maybe you could be doing this a little bit better'," said Kate DeMorest, Operations and Recreation Manager at Vail Pass.

For the 2018/2019 season, Vail Pass saw more than 37,000 visitors. The Forest Service shut down operations in March of 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, but expects numbers for the the 2020/21 season will show at least a 25% increase in visitation.

DeMorest said the added patrols this winter have helped immensely with management of the area. At 55,000 acres, they need it.

"There's just a lot more competition to park, to utilize the trailhead. There's a lot of conflict sometime at these trailheads between the different user groups and so what we're trying to do here with that fee. Because we can have management, we can kind of control some of that chaos which is nice," said DeMorest.

The process to establish a fee area on National Forest Land is a long one but Boyd said other areas may consider with increasing pressure.

"So we're looking at the Maroon Bells/Snowmass wilderness for summer camping," Boyd continued, "You know backcountry camping having both a permit and a fee structure there, so that's something that we'll be talking to the public about through the summer and getting their ideas."

Boyd said the area, like Vail Pass, has seen intense pressure over the years but has not had the funding Vail Pass has been able to take advantage of.

"This is a very popular backpacking destination (including the Four-Pass Loop) that has seen a quadrupling of use over the past decade," he said.  "We have had increasing management issues including over-crowding, litter, waste, and environmental impacts. Fees would help us get a handle on the issues through restoration of damaged areas, more rangers, and education, for instance. Like Vail Pass, 95 percent of the fees collected would be used for that specific area."

Boyd says the fee proposals always undergo a rigorous public-involvement process. The earliest a fee would be implemented in the Maroon Bells area would be summer 2022.