HMBA Alert: Increased Fees and Off Road Cycling Permit

[AL]

From what I understand these fee changes that are proposed by DNR are not considered a rule change by the NRC and therefore there is not period for public comment.  Thats too bad. Every trail user will be impacted by the general fee changes regarding gate fees and camping fees. I don't have a problem with this at all if it needs to be done. However, for the changes up for review by the NRC, it seems to me that Mountain bikers are the only targeted user group for a fee change other than the fee changes for the few Gun Ranges on state property.  All of the other fee changes effect people who use DNR resources for profit, resources, or the aid in Forest management on private property.  DNR only reasoning behind the "Off Road Cycling Permit is:"Off road cycling can have a significant impact on trails, as does horse-back riding, and other types of trail usage. At this time we charge a horse tag fee, but do not charge a off-road cycling fee." DNR states that a conservative estimate of 60K is expected. 
Sorry, that does not sit well with me. Mountain biking is not horseback riding. There are a lot of unanswered questions about how these permits will be implemented and enforced.  Previous posters have mentioned these.  A fee change that effects only a certain group of trail users should have a public comment period to hear concerns. Hopefully, the NRC feels the same way.

[gmcttr]

FWIW...the gate attendant at BCSP told me they had taken a $1.00 cut in pay. Makes the fee increases seem like the easy end of the deal.

[Otter]

I hate hearing that the employees are getting their pay cut.  To say they're not paid "handsomely" would be an understatement.  This is a fairly complex matter and basically a bad hand has been dealt to the DNR.  There's a trickle down effect to all involved.  The best thing all of us can do is to write to our legislature and let them know that we oppose (not just for MTB'ing sake) what's going on with the budget. 

[mtbikernate]

FWIW...the gate attendant at BCSP told me they had taken a $1.00 cut in pay. Makes the fee increases seem like the easy end of the deal.

That really sucks.

[Wall]

I wrote to the legislators to voice my opinion and suggest everyone here take the time to do the same.


I think someone is going to be on the loosing end of this if the cost to ride in a state park goes up to $70 (50 gate pass/20 off rode permit).  I truly think the state parks will see a reduction in use by mountain bikers which will be less money coming in.


I also think you will see some of those spending $70 to ride look at whether they also should spend $30 for their IMBA/HMBA membership?  We could see a reduction in membership.

[djkouza]

Should create one of those online petition things with sample letter to send.
Hopefully this fee increase won't curb IMBA memberships. Definitely curious how much it affects the park usage by bikers though.  And realistically enforcement would probably cost more than the passes bring in so again waiting to see how that all plays out.

I wrote to the legislators to voice my opinion and suggest everyone here take the time to do the same.

I think someone is going to be on the loosing end of this if the cost to ride in a state park goes up to $70 (50 gate pass/20 off rode permit).  I truly think the state parks will see a reduction in use by mountain bikers which will be less money coming in.

I also think you will see some of those spending $70 to ride look at whether they also should spend $30 for their IMBA/HMBA membership?  We could see a reduction in membership.

[jfish]

Email sent. I'm also going to shoot an email to the Visit Indy Chairman. See if he can help with this.

[djkouza]

Story from up north
Paul, not sure if they asked to use your name, or just took stuff from the web somewhere.


http://www.southbendtribune.com/news/local/mountain-bikers-fight-against-new-fee-at-indiana-parks/article_29c537a6-44d4-5d92-a924-752bb5a56f44.html

[tldyer57]

Rode at BCSP yesterday and gate attendant was not aware of any upcoming extra charges for mountain bikers when I asked.       Trails are in great shape!   Check out the new location for Hesitation Point Bike Shop just west of the Park entrance.   

[plapham]

I wonder if the DNR has seen increased costs or if the budget was cut?  Why a $3M shortfall?  I agree that this is a kick in the pants from another government agency which apparently has a problem managing (or mismanaging?) money.

[PKemppainen]

I wonder if the DNR has seen increased costs or if the budget was cut?  Why a $3M shortfall?  I agree that this is a kick in the pants from another government agency which apparently has a problem managing (or mismanaging?) money.

I would imagine, just like most everyone has experienced some type of increase in cost due to inflation somewhere, the DNR has also experienced increases in their costs. But as you probably know, the current political climate is also to cut government funding, reduce operational budgets and implement more "user fees" wherever possible.

The implementation of a mountain bike user fee, with an estimated projected annual income of only $60,000 shows how desperate things really are. That's like the cost of twelve or thirteen nice full-suspension mountain bikes.

The $3 million shortfall is only for the annual operating budget, and doesn't include the more than $30 million of maintenance costs that continue to be kicked on down the road. When you visit a state park and wonder why a building perhaps isn't painted, or why things like a playground may look like it is falling apart, that is something to consider.

A large number of full-time DNR jobs remain unfilled throughout the state, while parks continue to cut staff in an effort to live within their budget. In our area, and I'm sure in many others, prisoners from the local minimum-security operation are used instead of hiring seasonal help like they used to and volunteers cut the grass, maintain buildings and grounds, etc. And I'm sure you're probably aware that it's volunteers that look after building and maintaining the mountain bike trails in the state parks.

[mtbikernate]

The hiring freeze is absolutely a direct result of budget shortfalls and a lack of funding. I am in wildlife management/conservation, and I haven't seen IDNR hiring anybody in that field in any kind of midlevel positions in the past few years while I have seen several similar positions advertised in neighboring states. I've encountered a couple high level regional positions in different parts of the state, but nothing I'm qualified to do.


This is only one area of the DNR's operations, too.


I occasionally check the state jobs bank for DNR stuff. The only things I have seen advertised for the past several months have been for groundskeeping and seasonal lifeguards.


I have a hard time believing that the DNR is mismanaging very much money at this point. With staff reductions and maintenance backlogs, I see remaining staff overworked and without sufficient money to do many things that need doing. To do as much as possible, they've got to maximize the money they do receive. That makes it difficult to mismanage money.

[Adim_x]

I sent an email to my fine Johnson County reps..have received an bot reply from one and nothing from the other.  Fine gentlemen.  I will buy the pass.   I am less upset about a MTB fee, and more upset just that our parks are underfunded in General.  Meanwhile, good thing we have that religious freedom law.  Glad our states priorities are inline. 

[DITCH]

Has the parks looked at a off road hiking permit? I see the future of mountain biking down in trouble when only available  to those who can afford. Families with kids, on a tight budget, will be limited to the roads. ??

[Mattntp]

Mountain biking is already a rich mans sport. I don't want to hear somebody on a $5k bike complaining about $20 trail fees. Buy the permit, shut up and ride your bike.