New fees may only save 1 or 2 parks

TRUCKEE/TAHOE - California State Parks will raise fees as part of efforts to chip away at $14.2 million taken by the state.

The California Legislature recently voted to take $8 million from the state parks funding, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger took another $6.2 million in line-item vetoes, leaving state parks to look for roughly 100 parks of the state's 279 to close.

Along with looking for public-private partnerships to help save more state parks, the agency announced Tuesday it will raise day-use and camping fees.

"It will help us stretch our money, fees are only one tool," said Roy Stearns, deputy director of communications for California State Parks.

The new day-use fees were released Thursday morning online; camping fees are expected soon. Both will go into effect Monday. To see a complete list of new day-use and camping fees, go to www.parks.ca.gov, click "visit a park" then "Reservations & Fees."

Day-use parking fees go up between $2 and $5 on top of current fees that run from $4 to $14, and camping would go up by $10 to $21 per night, on top of existing $20 to $44 fees, Stearns said.

"This generates about $200,000 between now and the end of the year," Stearns said. "That saves maybe one, maybe two parks."

But raising fees too high risks reducing attendance at state parks, Stearns said. The biggest price hikes will be at the parks that get the most attendance, where the increases are less likely to turn people away, Stearns said.