What is the Department of the Interiors recreation fee program?
Congress required the Department of the Interior (DOI) to initiate the Recreation Fee Demonstration Program in the Omnibus Consolidated Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 1996. In September 1996, several DOI agencies, including the BLM, announced recreation fee pilot programs that went into effect in 1997. Under the Federal Land Policy Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA), the Department of the Interior and its agencies have the authority to seek a return from the special uses of the public lands, such as mining, oil and gas, and recreation. The Recreation Fee Demonstration Program stands out among the BLM’s other fee collection programs because all of the revenues are returned to the site where they were collected to improve the quality of visitor experience.
