BLM Proposes Fee Increases at Arizona Recreation Sites to Address Rising Visitation and Maintain Public Lands

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is proposing to increase fees at recreation sites in northwest Arizona due to increased visitation, which it has warned puts public lands at risk of being “loved to death”. Five draft recreation business plans propose increasing existing fees for activities such as overnight camping and adding new ones at 13 sites in northern and western Arizona. The fees aim to maintain basic services such as trash pickup and maintenance, and potentially fund future projects such as amenities for visitors. The fee increases would apply to specific sites within two field offices, the Kingman Field Office and the Lake Havasu Field Office, as well as the Virgin River Canyon Recreation Area, the Phoenix District’s recreational shooting sites, and the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument.