SOME State Park Fees Rising After Next Year...

[smithtb]

http://peninsulaclarion.com/news/2014-12-18-0

I remember there being some discussion about a group which worked on user fees a few years ago... and that there was some disagreement over raising fees on guides or private sport fishermen. I saw this in the paper - looks like fees are going up for users. I assume this affects the KRSMA. It looks like parking, boat launch, camping, and other related fees will go up. While this fee increase will affect everyone, I would think it would hit the private user harder as I assume most guides would by a season launch pass, and would not pay the daily camping, launching, and parking fees as often as private users, despite the fact that they likely use the facilities more.

Are fees specific to commercial operators conducting business inside our parks increasing?

[smithtb]

Just realized the title of the thread. Thats what I get for being in a hurry. Fees go up Jan 1.

[willphish4food]

A large portion of Parks fee revenue comes from fishermen. Years of poor salmon returns to popular fee collection areas has put a big hit on the department's budget. So they raise fees on everyone still using fee areas to try to make up the shortfall.

[smithtb]

A large portion of Parks fee revenue comes from fishermen. Years of poor salmon returns to popular fee collection areas has put a big hit on the department's budget. So they raise fees on everyone still using fee areas to try to make up the shortfall.

I realize money is tight. Budget concerns were an issue with the State Parks crowd before oil started its freefall. That combined with a new gov and budget could definitely cause some puckering. Willphish, important to note that while fee collection may be down some areas, I believe that overall use - at least on rivers and near me - is not down. It has merely shifted.

Yes, they raised fees on everyone. What I was referencing was the recent mud a particular private fisherman was drug through due to his (alleged) desire to increase fees on the commercial operators that use these areas and facilities in (I would assume) an attempt to lessen the fee increases on private sport fishermen.

It appears that the opposite has happened. General use fees have gone up, with no mention of increases in fees relative to commercial operators within state parks and sma's.

I don't know much about what, if any, additional fees are required to operate in such a capacity, so I may have missed something. I will not start hiking down the trail of valuing an industry by the amount it pays in taxes/fees to an ever-expanding government as I think that is nonsense, but I do think it is important first to clearly define commercial activity as such, and to regulate accordingly - especially within state parks and sma's.

So, what additional fees are required for me to make a living fishing while using the nearest river, boat launch, or camping area inside our state parks and special management areas? Have they increased?

[POLE BENDER]

the answer is yes, not sure to what extent they are going up, but from what i have heard, the commercial operator permit is going up about $100.
As for what we get out of it, i am not sure. I pay $250.00 (did) to launch my boat out of the anchor point state recreation area, this gives me no special privelages, other than a parking pass that would normally be covered with the price of a launch, of which we still still have to pay full price for.
then the strange thing, as an owner/operator of a guide service our state "guide liscense" has gone from 100 in the past to nothing other than a free registration this year, how the heck does that work??

[FishGod]

the answer is yes, not sure to what extent they are going up, but from what i have heard, the commercial operator permit is going up about $100.
As for what we get out of it, i am not sure. I pay $250.00 (did) to launch my boat out of the anchor point state recreation area, this gives me no special privelages, other than a parking pass that would normally be covered with the price of a launch, of which we still still have to pay full price for.
then the strange thing, as an owner/operator of a guide service our state "guide liscense" has gone from 100 in the past to nothing other than a free registration this year, how the heck does that work??

From what I understand, a House Bill's sunset clause expired and nobody noticed it until it was too late. I would assume things will be "back to the way they were" come 2016.