Los Padres Forest Fees to Begin June 16

Hiking in the wilderness will still be educational and recreational, but it won’t be free in Los Padres National Forest beginning next month.

As of June 16, people entering Los Padres and other national forests in Southern California will be required to pay a fee that will be reinvested in local conservation efforts, according to Forest Service officials.

Daily passes will cost $5 and annual passes $30.

In the past, fees collected by the Forest Service have gone directly to the U.S. Treasury. But Congress passed legislation last summer authorizing the Forest Service and other federal agencies to test various recreation fee retention projects.

Under a test scheduled to last until September 1999, Los Padres National Forest joined the Angeles, Cleveland and San Bernardino national forests in creating the Adventure Pass project. At the end of the test period, Congress will review the projects and make long-term decisions on the recreation fee program.

“Los Padres offers some of the best recreation opportunities in California, but many of our recreation facilities are wearing out,” forest supervisor Margaret Boland said. “This program will allow us to put money right back into what people have said they want most--more and cleaner bathrooms, more frequent trash pickup, better-maintained trails and more uniformed personnel to assist the public.”

During the test, the Forest Service says it wants to hear from the public on how the Adventure Pass program is working and where improvements can be made.

The passes will go on sale the week of June 9 at Los Padres forest offices. The Ventura County office is at the Ojai Ranger District at 1190 E. Ojai Ave. Call 646-4348 for more information.