Fees going up at Sand Mountain

[Crowdog]

Old pass expires Sept. 30.

I talked to BLM over Labor Day. They are planning to raise fees, but didn't have any idea of new cost.

I just talked to BLM. Sit down.











$90 for the annual pass and $40 for a weekly pass. :mad:

New passes should be available by Oct. 1.

Call BLM Oct. 1 for new passes.

[wilkin250r]

Holy $#!+!!!! What in the world is out there to warrent $40 for a weekly pass?

They don't have campsites, firepits, asphalt parking spots, sewage dump, or any maintenance costs associated with those types of things. The bathroom is a hole in the ground with bricks around it.

They grate the road every once in a while.

For crying out loud, Glamis and Pismo aren't this expensive, are they? What in the flippin, flying, blue-blazes $%#$ justifies $40 for an week?

Go to a public lake resort, they have campsites, boat ramps, possibly even electricity hookups, and THEM sites aren't even $40 a week, with far more accomodations.

[250r4life]

glamis is 90 a year, 30 a weekend... its pretty ridiculous too!!!

[Crowdog]

Protecting a butterfly that isn't listed as endangered costs lots of $$$$. :rolleyes:

[250r4life]

is it a butterfly where you guys are at? man, at least its something that has purpose in life, they are trying to shut down glamis for a stupid weed!!!

[Crowdog]

The enviros will use whatever "tool" is available to them to further their agenda.

[ballisticpb]

damn i wil need to skip a weekend of going over there so i can afford to buy one.. Do you know if you are local like live in fallon will it be cheaper.

[Crowdog]

Originally posted by ballisticpb
damn i wil need to skip a weekend of going over there so i can afford to buy one.. Do you know if you are local like live in fallon will it be cheaper.

Same price for everyone.

But I did find out that BLM is trying to make Tuesday & Wednesday free. :rolleyes:

[Crowdog]

http://www.lahontanvalleynews.com/article/20050924/News/109240022/-1/NEWS

http://www.sandmountain-nv.org/images/NewFees.jpg

BLM to double fees at Sand Mountain Oct. 1

BURKE WASSON, bwasson@lahontanvalleynews.com
September 24, 2005

When the calendar flips over to October one week from today, Sand Mountain will have two new changes - higher fees and no monuments.

Bureau of Land Management officials will double annual and weekly passes Oct. 1 at the giant sand dune popular for attracting off-road vehicle enthusiasts.

Yearly passes will jump from $45 to $90, and weekly passes will rise from $20 to $40.

But the BLM will also help people adjust to the fee raises by offering free admission to Sand Mountain on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Oct. 1 is also the deadline for anyone who has monuments placed on top of Sand Mountain to remove them. After that, they will be removed by BLM officials.

"We're still planning to remove the monuments," BLM Associate Field Manager Elayn Briggs said Friday. "We want folks to either go get theirs or come to us and say, 'Help me get it.' We're more than willing to work with these folks to come up with a suitable memorial down near the kiosk."

To Briggs' knowledge, no one has contacted the BLM about needing help to remove any monuments.

Briggs said she would like to remind people that rangers would carefully remove any monuments or items left on top of Sand Mountain.

"At some point, we will thoughtfully remove the memorials and hold those for folks," Briggs said. "We're not just going to take the monuments off there and throw them in a dumpster. We're not going to do anything like that."

As far as the doubling of annual and weekly fees to Sand Mountain goes. Briggs said they are necessary in order for the BLM to continue to offer needed amounts of law enforcement and emergency management services as well as enough funds to cover maintenance of the park.

According to BLM officials, Sand Mountain fees generated $170,000 in revenue last year. This money is exclusively reserved for maintenance costs, which include cleaning restrooms, trash disposal, pumping vault toilets, additional toilets during holidays, grading the entrance road, emergency medical services, law enforcement, fee collection, signing, brochures, education and resource protection.

The cost of maintaining those services last year at Sand Mountain was $225,000, according to the BLM.

Wile maintaining the enforcement and these services at Sand Mountain are high on the BLM's list, allowing any monuments on top of the mountain is not.

The decision to strip the items from the popular recreational area was made due to two reasons - the illegal placement of monuments on public land and the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe's recognition of that area of Sand Mountain as a sacred place.

Briggs said about eight to 10 memorials like bronze markers, cement monuments and wood boxes are sitting on top of Sand Mountain.

Anyone who has any questions about monuments currently sitting atop Sand Mountain is encouraged to contact the Bureau of Land Management's Carson City office.

Burke Wasson can be contacted at bwasson@lahontanvalleynews.com

[wilkin250r]

Aren't medical costs the responsibility of the victim?

Why do I have to foot the bill for some idiot that can't be bothered to have a spotter when he jumps?

Why do I have to pay for somebody that doesn't wear a helmet?

Why do I have to pay for some idiot to ride around drunk?

[ballisticpb]

Originally posted by wilkin250r
Aren't medical costs the responsibility of the victim?

Why do I have to foot the bill for some idiot that can't be bothered to have a spotter when he jumps?

Why do I have to pay for somebody that doesn't wear a helmet?

Why do I have to pay for some idiot to ride around drunk?

agreed... i thought the medical cost went to the victims as well...

i think we need to see some inprovements to the road and the restrooms for that kind of cost..

why not just raise the cost for the big weekends by ten bucks.. those weekends are where 99% of the issues stem from