Campground will be improved

Campers will see improvements made over the winter at the Bureau of Land Managements Indian Creek Campground near Markleeville when it opens for the season May 5.

The popular recreation site on Indian Creek Reservoir, a few miles off California State Highway 89, has benefited from being in the National Recreation Fee Demonstration Project (FeeDemo), a program where camping fees charged to the public stay on site as opposed to being sent back to the U.S. Treasury.

"We are pleased to offer a number of new improvements to our campers this year," said John Singlaub, BLM Carson City fieldmanager. "The FeeDemo Program is allowing us to keep fees on-site.

"That leverages the limited amount of maintenance money that we get from Congress and has resulted in expanded restrooms and hot showers, better handicapped-accessible campsites. We installed food storage lockers, otherwise known as "bear boxes," at all of our campsites.

"I think this is turning into one of the nicest modestly priced campgrounds in the Sierra Nevada. The fishing's good, too."

Indian Creek Campground is one of theearliest recreation sites to open in the Sierra Nevada each spring due to its relatively low elevation of 5,600 feet.

The nightly camping fee is low for a hosted campground with hot showers and flush toilets; - $10 a night for vehicles sites, $8 a night for designated tents-only sites and $20 a night for the group camp area.

Reservations are available only for the group camp (775) 885-6000; all other sites are available on a first-come, first-served basis. A BLM campground host is on duty throughout the camping season.

The campground will remain open until Oct. 10.