The US Forest Service has decided to issue without any competition a 5-year special use permit to a county to operate the popular Maroon Bells area of the White River National Forest that had previously been operated by the USFS using 10 seasonal and 3-5 permanent agency employees. The USFS stated that it had become “increasingly challenging to manage” the area given the agency’s reduced workforce and difficulty finding individuals willing to work at the site given the high cost of living in the area. While the USFS considered using a concessioner, the USFS commented that the new arrangement was “a natural expansion” of the decades-old partnership with it and the county.
In 1977, the city of Aspen and the USFS began a shuttle bus system transporting people to the area, and in 1997 the agency began charging a $10 day use fee for vehicles accessing the area. But the USFS now claims the $10 use fee is not keeping up with costs. The county intends to increase the $25 annual vehicle pass to $75. It will also increase the daily $10 vehicle fee to $30, increase campsite fees from $15 to $33 and will keep the current cost of a shuttle ticket at $16. The county will use county employees to manage the site and will invest all of the revenues into deferred maintenance at the site.
The USFS decision has been criticized because it results in fees being charged to the public to access public lands.