Recreation inflation

Use of state-run campgrounds, wildlife areas is about to cost you

Staci Matlock | The New Mexican

3/19/2008 - 3/20/08

No foolin'.

If you want to bicycle, hike or watch birds in the state-run wildlife areas after April 1, it's going to cost you.

Gone will be the free camping in the Bert Clancy, Mora, and Terrero campgrounds managed by the state Department of Game and Fish in the Pecos Canyon.

Gone will be the no-fee waterfowl viewing at McAllister Lake and horseback riding at the Edward Sargent Wildlife Refuge.

Non-hunting and non-fishing visitors will have to pay to play, view and enjoy 28 wildlife, wildfowl and camping areas managed by the Department of Game and Fish, according to department spokesman Marty Frentzel. The new permit is part of the department's Gaining Access Into Nature or GAIN program. "If you have a fishing license or a hunting license, that's your permit to go in these areas. And if you are bird-watching or hiking, we're going to expect you to get a GAIN permit," Frentzel said.

The department is responsible for managing everything from habitat for endangered species around the state to elk herds and fish populations. Until now, most of the department's budget has come from hunting and fishing fees, and taxes on hunting and fishing gear. About $12 million of the department's annual budget is from hunting and fishing license fees. Another $8 to $9 million comes from the state's share of federal excise taxes on the sell of hunting and fishing equipment. The department gets some capital outlay state funds for big picture items such as taking care of dams and fish hatcheries.

But those funds are no longer enough to clean up and manage some of the state's wildlife areas, Frentzel said. "We're at the point with the population in New Mexico and visitors to these areas that we can't provide the services with just the money from hunting and fishing," Frentzel said.

The cost of a GAIN permit is $15. Add to that a $4 habitat management fee and a
$1 vendor fee, for a total permit cost of $20. Similar to a fishing license, the GAIN permit will be good for one year at all the state managed wildlife and waterfowl areas covered by the GAIN program.

The department will have available a $9 temporary GAIN permit good for five days.

Visitors under age 18 won't need a permit. But each person over 18 will need one.

Arnold Atkins, president of the Truchas Chapter of Trout Unlimited, said he thinks it's fair to charge hikers, bikers and campers who visit Game and Fish managed areas. All other land agencies — Forest Service, national parks, state parks and the Bureau of Land Management — charge fees at most of their campgrounds and even day-use parking areas. "So for the life of me, if someone wants to ride horses or hike in the Sargent Wildlife area and other state-managed sites, I see no reason they shouldn't contribute to the well-being of the area," Atkins said, but noted there's no doubt people who've enjoyed the areas for free aren't going to be happy about paying now.

Doug Jeffords, president of the Upper Pecos Watershed Association, wouldn't comment on the fees, but he said the organization was preparing to release a study commissioned last year that showed the impacts of all kinds of recreation on water quality in the Pecos River and adjoining streams. Preliminary findings: It's a big, detrimental impact.

The popular campgrounds in the Pecos Canyon, where people for years parked their RVs and campers willy-nilly, sometimes right on the edge of streams, are areas the department wants to improve and manage better, Frentzel said. The department put up steel railings in 2006 and reseeded river banks at two of the campgrounds, but more work is needed.

But the new permit fees to pay for it are going to make long-time Pecos Canyon visitors upset. "We're going to get hate mail over this," Frentzel said, sounding slightly glad to be working out of a Santa Fe office 45 miles from the campgrounds in question.

The GAIN permit and fees were approved earlier this year by the Game Commission after several public hearings and commission meetings around the state.

Frentzel said the money will be used to manage wildlife areas better. At the Pecos Canyon campgrounds it means having the money to hire someone to pick up trash, empty trash cans and monitor litterbug campers.

One of the newest full-time employees hired at the Department of Game and Fish is an archaeologist. "Before we put a post hole in the ground we have to do an archaeological survey," Frentzel said. "Environmental laws have increased costs. For us to keep up with services, we have to find alternate funding sources."

Frentzel said the department plans to use the first year to educate the public. "Officers can write warnings at their own discretion," Frentzel said. "If they catch the same person without a permit two or three times, then they may write up a citation."

Contact Staci Matlock at smatlock@sfnewmexican.com.