White Sands National Park Seeks Public Comments on Amenity and Permit Fee Increase

White Sands National Park proposes changes to current fees for enhanced visitor services including, the Full Moon and Lake Lucero ranger-guided hikes, backcountry tent camping, and group use area reservations, as part of its commitment to improving the visitor experience.

Proposed changes to the fees would be implemented on January 1, 2021.

Under an annual review, the park determined that under the current rate structure, the group use area and interpretive hike fees are lower than those charged by local commercial operators, neighboring National Forests, and other organizations and businesses with similar services. In addition, the backcountry camping fees will be brought into alignment with similar local facilities. The changes will allow the park to continue to provide a top-quality visitor experience, provide ranger-led hikes, and make site improvements for these amenities.

Proposed fee changes:

Full Moon and Lake Lucero Ranger-led Hikes:
• Current fee per adult of $8.00 would increase to $12.00
• Current fee per youth up to age 15 of $4.00 would increase to $8.00

Backcountry Camping Permit per day:
• Current rate per site (maximum six persons per site): $3.00 per adult and $1.50 per youth up to age 15
• Proposed rate is $10.00 per site

Group Use Area Permit & Reservation per day:
• Current rate is $25.00
• Proposed rate is $50.00

The park invites and is accepting public comments through midnight MDT September 21, 2020. Public scoping is a federal legal requirement that invites the public, local governments, and stakeholders in local communities to present comments to the National Park Service.

Online comments may be submitted at parkplanning.nps.gov/WHSA2020CivicEngagement or emailed to whsa_comments@nps.gov. Written comments submitted by mail can be sent to Superintendent, White Sands National Park, PO Box 1086 Holloman AFB, NM 88330.

White Sands National Park wants to hear from you and values your input on the proposed amenity, and permit fee increases. The public feedback the park receives will help determine if fee changes will be implemented.

Document Content:

White Sands National Park Seeks Public Comments on Amenity and Permit Fee Increase NEWS RELEASE.pdf   (94.3 KB, PDF file) Disclaimer: Links within the above document(s) were valid as of the date published. Note: Some of the files may be in PDF format and can be viewed using the Adobe Acrobat Reader software. You may download a free copy of from Adobe Systems.