Fee increases are being proposed for camping, boating, and some other activities at Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota, and park staff are seeking public opinion on the proposals.
Public comment is being taken online from June 28 – July 25. A public meeting will take place at the Park Headquarters Building, 360 Highway 11 East, on June 29, at 6 p.m. local time, on June 30 at 12 p.m. local time, and a Facebook Live meeting will be hosted by the Voyageurs Conservancy.
This proposal seeks to increase rates on existing boat tour, camping amenity, and houseboat permit fees, and establish new fees for low-use season camping, primitive campsites, winter equipment rentals, and specialized ranger-led interpretive programs. Voyageurs National Park has not proposed increases since tour fees were last approved in 2010 and since camping and houseboat fees were approved in 2013.
As a park that collects less than $500,000 in fees annually, 97 percent of the recreation fees collected at Voyageurs stays at the park to fund projects that directly enhance the visitor experience and to support the operation of the reservation system. Recreation fee dollars have funded the cleaning and maintaining of park sites, the ongoing improvement and rehabilitation of campsite structures, and backcountry trail repairs. Recreation fees have also purchased fire rings, picnic tables and bear lockers to replace deteriorating amenities.
Since the implementation of the reservation system in 2014, the park’s recreation usage has been more accurately monitored, showing an average increase in camping activity of 11 percent per year. Like many recreation areas, 2020 brought a spike in usage to Voyageurs at 40 percent over the previous 5-year average for camping and 35 percent over the previous 3-year average for houseboating. This trend appears to be persisting, as camping reservations made on the day they became available for the 2021 season increased 56 percent from that of 2020. With this increased pressure on park sites comes greater maintenance and resource protection needs throughout the districts.
“We are committed to keeping the park affordable, but we also want to provide visitors with the best possible experience,” said Voyageurs Superintendent Bob DeGross. “The proposed rate changes would allow us to do that. Additional revenue would help sustain existing programs, allow for the enhancement of visitor destination sites throughout the park, support resource monitoring at campsites and houseboat sites, and offset the annual increased cost of maintaining and improving the park’s camping and recreational infrastructure.”
Once the comment period opens, comments can be made online at this site.
Free interpretive programs will always continue to be offered, like the Ethnobotanical Garden Tour, Campfire Talks, Notes from the North Woods Series, and more.
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