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1 1 (October 6, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govenco0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional R? search Se Informing heleg iltive d bate sin e 1914 Updated October 6, 2023 Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act: Overview and Issues tiverview The Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA; 16 U.S.C. §§6801-6814) authorizes five agencies to charge and collect recreation fees on federal recreational lands and waters. The agencies are the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and National Park Service (NPS) in the Department of the Interior (DOI) and Forest Service (FS) in the Department of Agriculture. The agencies retain the collected fees primarily for on-site improvements. Current Status. Agencies are authorized to charge fees at recreation sites until October 1, 2024. Initial authority was for a 10-year period, expiring December 8, 2014; multiple extensions have been enacted. Congress oversees program administration and considers program changes. Types of Fees. FLREA authorizes different kinds of fees, outlines criteria for establishing fees, and prohibits fees for certain activities or services. FWS and NPS can charge entrance fees. BLM, Reclamation, and FS can charge standard amenity fees in areas or circumstances with a certain level of services or facilities. All five agencies can charge an expanded amenity fee for specialized facilities and services and special recreation permit (SRP) fees for specialized uses, such as group activities. Criteria for Establishing Fees. Fee criteria in FLREA were intended to promote fairness and consistency among agencies and locations and to minimize confusion, burden, and overlap of fees. Fees are to be commensurate with benefits and services provided. The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture (the Secretaries) are to consider comparable fees charged elsewhere, establish the minimum number of fees, and consider the aggregate effect of fees on recreation users and providers. The Secretaries must allow public participation in establishing fees. Recreation Passes. FLREA authorized a national pass for recreation at sites of the different agencies. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers also participates in the pass program (under P.L. 113-121, §1048). The America the Beautiful- the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass covers entrance fees and standard amenity fees at areas where such fees are charged. The annual pass is $80; discounted or free versions are available (e.g., for volunteers and permanently disabled individuals). Further, agencies have established site-specific and regional passes. Fee Sites. In 2020 (most recent data available across agencies), the participating agencies charged FLREA fees at then-existing sites as follows: Of FS's nearly 30,000 recreation sites, 3,879 collected fees. Of BLM's nearly 3,700 developed recreation sites, about 425 charged fees. Of 568 FWS refuges, 163 sites charged fees, including roughly 30 areas with entrance fees. Of 423 NPS units, 156 sites charged an entrance and/or expanded amenity fee. Of Reclamation's more than 245 sites with developed recreation, 2 charged a fee. Retention of Fees. Each agency can retain and spend the revenue collected without further appropriation. At least 80% of the annual revenue collected is to be retained and used at the site where it was generated, although the Secretaries can reduce that amount to not less than 60% if collections exceed reasonable needs. The remaining collections are to be used agency-wide, at the agency's discretion. In practice, the agencies generally use between 80% and 100% of fees at the collecting sites. Recreation Fee Receipts. Recreation fees generally represent a small portion of agency financing. In FY2021, the five agencies collected $462.9 million in total revenues under FLREA, composed of $425.9 million for agency activities and $37.1 million collected by FS from recreation.gov and used for administration of this reservation service. The agencies collected and retained varying shares of the $425.9 million: NPS, 74%; FS, 18%; BLM, 6%; FWS, 2%; and Reclamation, less than 1%. From FY2017 to FY2021 (most recent five-year data available for all agencies), total revenues for the five agencies increased 11%. More specifically, revenues increased by 6% from FY2017 to FY2019, fell by 16% in FY2020, then increased by 25% in FY2021. The increase during the first three years was due to new and higher fees, additional visitation at some sites, and other factors. The decline in FY2020 was due primarily to reduced visitation and suspended fee collections in some areas during the COVID-19 pandemic. The increase in FY2021 was due primarily to increased visitation for some agencies. More recent data for some agencies show an increase, (e.g., NPS revenue increased from $313.4 million in FY2021 to $348.6 million in FY2022). For each of five years, Figure 1 shows total revenues and agency shares.

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