The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Elk Refuge held a public review and comment period from May 18 through June 16, 2022 on proposed fee changes for 3 types of commercial special use permits issued on the refuge. The proposed fee change would affect any person or business that charges or includes a fee for guiding on the refuge including guided tours, guided workshops (such as art or photography), and guided fishing. The Refuge received 6 comments with each comment covering multiple topics, comments and responses can be found at the end of this news release.
The special use permit fee change proposed by the refuge in May 2022 was:
$200/year application fee + Daily Refuge Use Fees
- Daily Refuge Use Fees
- 0-10 people: $10/day
- 11-25 people: $25/day
- 26-50 people: $50/day
- 51 or more people: $75/day
Based on the feedback received during the public review and comment period, the Refuge is moving forward with the proposed fee changes with the following modifications:
- $200/year application fee + $1 per client fee, with a minimum client fee of $100 to cover the cost of fee processing.
- Proposed fee changes will not go into effect until October 2023.
The National Elk Refuge issues more than 50 commercial guiding special use permits annually. This fee increase will allow the National Elk Refuge to better manage the impacts of commercial guiding on the refuge including resource impacts, law enforcement, staff time, and maintenance needs.
Comments and Refuge Response
Comment (1): We received one comment of general support of the proposed fee change.
Response: Thank you for your comment.
We did not make any changes to the fee proposal as a result of this comment.
Comment (2): We received two comments in regard to company set prices for the 2022 winter season and the inability of companies being able to adjust their fees in response to the proposed fee change.
Response: Thank you for your comment. We will postpone changing the fee until the fall of 2023.
We changed the implementation time from fall of 2022 to fall of 2023 as a result of these comments.
Comment (3): We received four comments in regard to confusion about the proposed fee schedule.
Response: Thank you for your comment. We have adjusted the fee schedule to be easier to understand and to implement. The fee schedule will be $1 per client with a minimum of $100 to cover the cost of processing the payment. The $200 application fee still applies.
We changed the fee schedule from the Daily Refuge Use Fee to a simplified $1 per client fee with a minimum fee of $100 to cover the cost of processing the payment. The $200 application fee still applies.
Comment (4): We received one comment in regard to having a percentage-based fee schedule.
Response: Thank you for your comment. We do not feel a percentage-based fee schedule would be quittable considering the 3 different types of use for the Special Use Permit.
We did not make any changes to the fee proposal as a result of this comment.
—FWS—
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