Sep. 27—If you went on a New Mexico camping trip in 1998, you would have paid the same price for a state park campsite with utilities that you would today.
The fees haven’t kept up with operational costs or parks in other states, according to State Parks Division officials.
“When you’re dealing with 25 to 40 years of inflation, it is a big jump,” division Director Toby Velasquez said at a Thursday meeting of the Legislature’s Water and Natural Resources Committee.
A new proposal would make state park day entry free for New Mexico residents for most of the year while bringing in more revenue for the division by raising other fees. Around 30% of the State Parks Division budget came from the general fund in recent years; fees help support the rest. In total, the proposed increases are expected to bring in an additional $5.4 million per year to the parks system.
Residents and out-of-state visitors would pay different rates. With the exception of peak season months — between May and September — New Mexicans would be able to enter a state park for the day for free. During peak season, entry would remain at $5 for residents. Nonresidents would pay $10 year round.
The last fee increase for day entry was in 2004, from $4 to $5.
Camping prices would increase for both residents and nonresidents, as well as entrance fees for the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park in Carlsbad and Smokey Bear Historical Park in Capitan.
An earlier proposal presented in February didn’t include fee differences between residents and nonresidents for camping and would have eliminated annual camping and day-use passes and made day passes free year-round to residents. It was revised after a bevy of public meetings where people raised concerns about limiting accessibility for in-state visitors.
“There was a feeling that these passes and permits are necessary to provide affordable recreation for families as well as for people on fixed income,” said Jared Langenegger, field operations bureau manager for the State Parks Division. “There was a general feeling among the public and our staff that elimination of day fees would lead to overcrowding and resource abuse. … Based on the comments we received, we went back to the drawing board.”
A final public hearing on the revised fees is scheduled for Oct. 22.
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