National Park Service Proposing Fee Increase For Lake Powell Boating

The National Park Service is proposing a fee increase for boat passes for vessels using Lake Powell in the Glen Canyon National Recreational Area. In a press release, the park service says the increase in revenue for the park would help with infrastructure repair and improvements in a variety of ways.

The revenue increase would be used for infrastructure repairs and improvements that are directly tied to usage along with repair of impacts cause by houseboat pin anchoring. Funds would also be used for possible additional launch ramps, extending, repairing and replacing courtesy ramps.

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (NRA) currently charges $50 per vessel for an Annual Boat Pass to Lake Powell. This pass is used by our local visitors in Page or Bullfrog, those in the immediate vicinity, or owners of vessels that are moored or docked in a slip/buoy in Lake Powell.

The weekly vessel cost is $30 per vessel and is mainly used by those visitors who are out of state or only visit the area for a specific destination trip.

Unclear in the information provided by the park service is the amount that they are proposing to raise the fees to. One hint provided is that rates may not be the same for each vessel, as they are asking for public comment on a “tiered boat pass fee.”

In recent years, the vessels entering Glen Canyon NRA have increased in size and displacement. Many houseboats are now well over 100 feet in length. When the initial fee structure was developed, houseboat sizes were limited to 75 feet. With the increase in vessel sizes comes an increased cost in providing sustainable lake access in the midst of what the park service calls “dynamically” changing lake levels.

Larger houseboats require additional launching capabilities, utilize more utilities, and have greater impacts to natural resources. Larger houseboats also require additional space to anchor which has an impact to smaller vessels.

The public is encouraged to offer comment on the proposed fee increase. Comments are being accepted online at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/GLCATieredBoatPass through October 6^th.

Comments may also be mailed to:

Superintendent

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

PO Box 1507

Page, AZ 86040

The National Park Service will also hold a public open house on September 20^th from 6:00 to 7:30pm (Arizona time) at the Glen Canyon Headquarters Building at 691 Scenic View Road in Page.