User fees

[98ZJ4X4]

I would be willing to pay a fee, but I would rather it be a yearly State Wide Fee, and there could be two of them.

1. Fee for a Wheeler, be it a bike, quad or 4x4 (For each if you have more then one) Fee could be different for different types of ORV.

2. Fee for any Parking at the ORV site (The same fee regardless if it is a single car, or something towing a trailer) this would also include then the people without an ORV that come to ride with somone or with somone else hauling their ORV for them, and use parking space.

But I would also like to see the law passed allowing this, to assure us the money would stay with ORV areas within in the state and could not be transfer to other use event if there is an excess. Excess could be used then to aquire new land or right of ways as needed to increase ORV Areas to keep pace with the growth in our sport.

I will not suggest an amount for either of these fees as I think DNR or whom ever would have to look at the uses the money would be put to and then find what would be a reasonable fee to cover those needs and to maybe build a pool for future growth or additions to the ORV sites.

 

[Travis1]

I voted free.

I don't trust the state not to steal the funds.

 

[Binder]

You'll never keep these kinds of people out:haha:.....people that don't give a F about dumpin', tweekin', etc. , well, don't give an F about some "pass"....

And with enforcement they could put some of these people in jail. Maybe then they would care.:;

 

[MarcW]

we have enough fees. :flipoff:

How about some management?:corn:

Were's the management money come from?

 

[boardbysled]

I forgot to add, that ya get a snowpark pass when ya buy ur snowmobile tabs, this ensures that people parkin in the snowparks are snowmobilers. if ya dont snowmobile, ya can buy a snowpark pass for $10. The state already has a system that has been around 10+ years that works that would need just a little tweaking for ORVs....

 

[japerry]

great comments, keep 'em going.

There is continued questions about why high fees. The $10 tabs down in Oregon play only a small part in their funding process. Just like bus fares play a small part ($1 fare on WTA makes up 8% of their budget). If you're looking at a fully self sustainable park, the fees need to be adjusted to match actual costs.

The fees that people are willing to pay reflects the amount of service they expect. IE: $40/day will be a large place with lots of multi-difficulty trails, probably full service camping, etc. A place that charged $10/day would be smaller, have less staff, and primitive, if any camping.

My question is to see if you're willing to pay $40/day for that service, or would you rather pay $10 a day no matter what.

 

[Tofer]

.....
Or do like Oregon and make all rigs get an ORV pass even if they have a license and even if they are out of state?

yep. that would be my suggestion. Oregon OHV sticker is 10.50 for 2 years.... BUT if your caught by LEO without it, its a huge ticket that is hard to get thrown out. I wouldnt be opposed to an annual "fee"... the pay to play sucks because you have to reemeber to pay every time, plus there is cost to man the pay stations everyday that people want to wheel... aka 365.

i've wheelin in CA where they do have pay to play parks... and guess what, no ranger to pay... no play. you can only wheel when they're open. it sucks.

i think its a great idea that will be hell to reinforce.

i've seen plently of people get hit with the no sticker ticket in oregon... if your on trail you better have the sticker

 

[Clark]

$$$ I'd pay whatever it takes, anything under $1000 a year seems reasonable to me.

$150 year or less than $15/mo is cheap, I spend $150 in fuel and food for a days wheeling. Not to mention anything else. If it means keeping places like reiter open, it's priceless. Charge whatever is needed to make it happen.:awesomework:

 

[japerry]

$$$ I'd pay whatever it takes, anything under $1000 a year seems reasonable to me.

$150 year or less than $15/mo is cheap, I spend $150 in fuel and food for a days wheeling. Not to mention anything else. If it means keeping places like reiter open, it's priceless. Charge whatever is needed to make it happen.:awesomework:

Now only if we had 1000 of you, I think we might have a solution! :awesomework:

 

[Duck Dodgers]

As far as enforcement goes... why not have an emphasis team like the WSP has from time to time. 2-3 LEO's show up at random times in random areas and hammer the heck out of violators. Forest Watch is another route. Train people to identify violation/violators, contact, report and show up in court if necessary. Citizen patrols and high visibility can be very effective in deterring illegal activities. But it takes folks to get off their butts and go out in the woods. Heck I'd night wheel with a thermos full of coffee and a box of doughnuts.... (Shut it Kev):fawkdancesmiley:

Play to pay is a viable idea. But like a few have said here, it needs to be safeguarded.
I believe there is legislation being worked on to protect the future NOVA funds from being stolen again.

 

[jeffs_62]

As far as enforcement goes... why not have an emphasis team like the WSP has from time to time. 2-3 LEO's show up at random times in random areas and hammer the heck out of violators. Forest Watch is another route. Train people to identify violation/violators, contact, report and show up in court if necessary. Citizen patrols and high visibility can be very effective in deterring illegal activities. But it takes folks to get off their butts and go out in the woods. Heck I'd night wheel with a thermos full of coffee and a box of doughnuts.... (Shut it Kev):fawkdancesmiley:

Play to pay is a viable idea. But like a few have said here, it needs to be safeguarded.
I believe there is legislation being worked on to protect the future NOVA funds from being stolen again.

This.


My biggest problem with paying now is it staying in the parks. I would pay a yearly fee. Hell I pay for my fishing license and only go out once or twice a year. I already have to license three quads and my son's dirt bike and my sand rail. If I had to buy one more I don't think it would kill me. If they leave the gas tax where it is, (and the state leaves it alone) that could offset the cost of tabs. I enjoy wheeling in Oregon but it is a little far to go for a weekend or a day.

 

[stealthrunner1]

And thats where I wonder where reasonable is. For instance, I'd pay $5-$10 to goto Walker.. but I'd pay more like 15-20 to goto a place like Reiter. The difficulty and abundance of trails make it worth more.

I have the same opinion as you jakob not much for walker and more for a area that has more difficulty....:awesomework:

 

[MIG'DHORSE]

considering the fact that i've thrown away over 10k into my toyota, and now that reiter is closed indefinitely, that was all a waste, i'd be willing to pay a very high price to ensure i'd have a pretty decent place to go wheeling.

I'm sure when all of you lay it out like that you'd be willing to shell out quite a bit as well. my 10k aint **** compared to many on this forum. we throw thousands of dollars into our rigs but don't have anywhere to drive them. it looks like mall crawling will me the new thing.:booo:

 

[little crawler]

I know when i lived in Memphis you had to pay everywhere you wheeled. It was like $15 per day or $25 weekend and like $10 day or $15 weekend for passengers. I thought it kinda sucked when i first moved there from here and had to get use to it. Then when i moved back here and all the places closing down seems kind of a no brainer if we want to wheel. I was told they cant do that cuz if some asshat gets hurt then the park is responsible which is lame. We all know what we do when wheeling is or can be a little dangerous so deal with it.

 

[jprcrpr94]

I would ABSOLUTELY pay to wheel at Reiter.

 

[WinchBunny]

I wouls totally buy an anual pass for around $150-200...especially if it included camping. I dont get to go up too much, but I figure if it were $200 an I went atleast 3 times, I would definately get my moneys worth...It would be kinda nifty too if maybe we did some kinda donation thingy like how u can buy those little paper shamerocks or whatever to help with like Chisldre's hospital....we could sell little paper jeeps/trucks for a buck an all the proceeds co to helping with Reiter??? Maybe this isnt a new idea...I dunno, I just havent seen it up here before..........or maybe a Bakini Car Wash??? :;

 

[tlcruiser66]

I would have no problem paying up to 25 per day on the trails, I spend more than that on coffee in 3 days and wheeling is a whole hell of a lot more fun than coffee will ever be. But an annual fee wouldn't be worth it to me since I don't get to go out too often and it wouldn't be worth $100+ per year for 2 daytrips.

The only issue that I have with the pay to play idea is the theft of monies towards programs the state decides are more important than what the money is meant for. If there were a way to safegaurd the funds from being misused I'd be more than happy to fork over what I needed.

They may have an easier time finding volunteer's for trail work if they offered free passes as a reward for hard work put in too.

 

[NotSoPC]

The money only goes to the trails, BIGASS fine if you dont have a pass, If you dont have a pass 3 times up then you lose your ride to the trail fund. I would pay what ever it takes. I always get a year pass that I use for evans cause I will go up if even not to wheel. Make the pass for one rig only like orv tags, and have a parking tag that is cheaper. I pay a lot just to be able to get away from town and the rest of the a-holes around there so this seems fair.

You have to look at this way, if we dont find a way to fund the trails we love soo much then we will lose them and have to drive a long way to use the ones that other people worked to keep open.

I would love to see more privet parks but those will also cost a lot and I dont see a lot of people with the $$ to buy that much land.

I will pay what it takes to keep on wheeling!:awesomework:

 

[pokey]

This just in

Hikes on Mount Si and Tiger Mountain may soon cost you
By VANESSA HO
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

Hiking Mount Si, Tiger Mountain and other popular state-managed lands may soon require a paid user pass under a draft proposal by the state Department of Natural Resources.

Anticipating the state's $4.8 billion deficit for the next two years, the department plans to present legislation next year to charge user fees. The proposal so far is to charge $40 for an annual pass and $10 for a day-use pass, said DNR spokesman Aaron Toso. The passes would be per person.

The passes would cover activities on lands managed by both DNR and the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Already, hikers pay fees to use U.S. Forest Service and National Parks sites.

Toso said the fees would help provide sustainable funding for outdoor recreation, including maintenance and enforcement. Some of the fees would also fund the trusts that own some of the lands, including one that pays for school construction costs.

The advocacy group Washington Trails Association supports the idea of a fee system that's reasonable and noted that DNR-managed lands were threatened with closure last year, according to a story on its site.

"It's our hope that DNR can keep critical landscapes open while charging a reasonable access fee to help pay for it," wrote WTA's Lauren Braden.

Opinions differed on the group's Facebook page, with some people thinking $10 a hike is too expensive and that public lands should remain free of fees. Other people wrote it's time for hikers to help take care of natural resources.

Vanessa Ho can be reached at 206-448-8003 or [email protected]. Follow Vanessa on Twitter at twitter.com/vanessaho.


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[Binder]

Hiking Mount Si, Tiger Mountain

Funny how any time an issue comes up these areas are always singled out. Clearly the yuppies who hike over there weigh in much more than the rest of us.