Smokies Backcountry Camping Fee Approved
GATLINBURG -Great Smoky Mountains Superintendent Dale A. Ditmanson
has announced that the Park’s proposal to begin collecting for the use of
the Park’s backcountry campsites and shelters has been approved by the
National Park Service. This approval clears the way for the Park to move
forward with developing an on line system to collect fees beginning in 2013
for reserving and use of the Park’s backcountry by overnight hikers and
equestrians.
The Park developed the plan in order to improve its trip-planning and
reservation services to users and to expand its backcountry Ranger presence
to better protect park resources through enforcement of food-storage and
other regulations and improved visitor education regarding Leave-No-Trace
principles.
The proposal was open for public comment last summer and some 230
written comments and two petitions were received during the comment period.
According to Ditmanson, the public comments provided a great deal of
constructive input on the concerns Park backcountry users had about the fee
plan. “Many commenters were under the misconception that the Smokies is
legally prohibited from charging user fees. The Park is prohibited from
charging a toll or license fee from motorists crossing Park roads, by
language in a 1951 deed under which the ownership of some park roads was
transferred from the State of Tennessee to the National Park Service. But,
we have long been authorized to collect user fees for specific activities
such as front country camping, weddings, and commercial filming.”
(over)
Smokies Backcountry Fee Proposal – page 2
“There was also a significant amount of concern about our initial
plan to utilize the same computerized federal reservation system,
www.recreation.gov that virtually all national parks use to reserve
drive-in sites in front country campgrounds. We acknowledge that some of
the policies, such as the lead time for making reservations and
cancellations, are not a good fit for more spontaneous backcountry users.
We will not use that system unless we are convinced that it can provide the
level of service we want to offer, and are exploring the alternative of
developing a stand-alone software program tailored specifically to the
Smokies. The system developed will also need to be practicable for
Appalachian Trail thru hikers whose itineraries evolve from day-to-day.”
“Concern was also raised about the range of fee amounts that were
under consideration and that the resulting revenues may be diverted to
other programs. We have decided to focus our plans around the lowest and
simplest of the fees under study: $4 per night per person. Most
importantly, 100% of the revenue from this program will be invested in
improving back-country services through extended hours of the back-country
office, trip-planning assistance, on-line reservations, and protection of
park resources through increased ranger staff. ”
Now that the proposal has been approved, Park managers plan to
provide periodic updates as plans for the reservation system evolve.
About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service
employees care for America’s 395 national parks and work with communities
across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home
recreational opportunities. Learn more at
www.nps.gov.(See attached file: Backcountry Camping Fee 2nd release March 7 2012
FINAL.docx)
Bob Miller
Management Assistant
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
(865) 436-1207
FAX 436-1204
I like the reservation.gov site for frontcountry sites but their fees and policies make it a poor fit for the typical Smokies backpacker.
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