Arizona snowbirds, look out! If you spend time on any of the popular Long Term Visitor Areas (LTVAs) near Quartzsite or Yuma, Arizona, you may need a bigger bankroll. The BLM wants to raise LTVA fees by as much as five times their current rate.
Rumors started back in June
Back in June we got word from worried snowbirds that they’d heard the agency was planning a big jump in fees. At the time, we contacted the BLM for their comment. “The Yuma Field Office is working on our business plan for our recreational sites to include the LTVAs,” Tammy Gothard wrote us back then. Gothard is the Yuma BLM public contact. “We are evaluating our rates, which have not increased in over a decade. Once the draft business plan has been completed, there will be public meetings and a public comment period available.”
The draft business plan is now completed—and was announced on September 6—a Friday. An interesting move, putting out the news at the end of the weekly news cycle. Making it even more “interesting” is the date the agency set for the first “public information session,” a virtual meeting, set for Tuesday, September 10—just four days after the official announcement.
BLM wants to raise LTVA fees…
Perhaps the timing of the announcement and an allowance of just four days before the first meeting is due to what many will think of as a “bombshell” in terms of the proposed fee hikes. Under the current fee structure, a 7-month LTVA permit is $180. If the proposal goes through, that same permit will cost a whopping $600, a 233% increase. Users will be hit with a bill more than three times larger than at present. “But it gets better,” as the saying goes.
Don’t need a 7-month permit? Many visitors who want to “taste and see” what the LTVA lifestyle is like often buy a shorter permit. This one is good for two weeks on the LTVAs. Those “short term” permits presently cost $40. The BLM wants to raise short term LTVA permits up to $200—a 400% increase. But the agency sweetens the deal by making those permits good for a month. If you want to stay a full month, then you’ve got a comparative bargain—your “daily” rate would only increase by 150%.
… Way above the inflation rate
The BLM’s rationale for the huge hikes in permit fees is outlined in its press release announcing the new management plan.
“The BLM conducted a market analysis of current recreation fees statewide that revealed fee rates were below local market prices. ‘The BLM has not updated business plans for our recreation sites to reflect market conditions in decades,’ said Gerald Davis, BLM Arizona Deputy State Director for Resources and Planning. ‘The updated plans would enable the BLM to improve services and amenities in order to ensure these sites provide the exceptional experiences that visitors to public lands deserve.’”
Interestingly, we compared the BLM rate hikes of 233% to as much as 400% to the rate of inflation from their last fee hike. That last change was in 2008. Since then, the U.S. rate of inflation has, indeed, increased—by 46.9%.
When will the new fees kick in?
When would LTVA users see whatever new fees are settled on? We spoke with Dolores Garcia, a public information officer with the Yuma Field Office of the BLM. Garcia told us that any fee changes won’t see implementation until the “2026 camping season.” She added that public comments on how the fees are rolled out, whether as a one-time change, or phased in, are part of the agency’s decision process. Your comments are important.
You can learn more easily—but “official” comments have restrictions
Want to learn more? The BLM will host two virtual public information sessions about the proposals. The first is at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 10, and another on Wednesday, September 25. To attend any of the virtual meetings, click the related link to register.
The Yuma Field Office will hold a virtual public meeting on Wednesday, September 11, from 5:00-7:00 p.m., and an in-person public meeting in Quartzsite on Wednesday, October 9, from 1:00-3:00 p.m.
Two public information sessions will roll out, one on November 6 at Imperial Dam LTVA and another on November 20 in Quartzsite from 1:00-3:00 p.m. To attend the virtual session on November 6, click the link to register.
All of these sessions will allow for questions and, to some degree, comments. However, NONE of the comments made by the public will be considered official. If you attend an in-person meeting, comment forms will be available. Any information provided on those will be considered official. To comment or make suggestions to the BLM in a way that will be official and count, you’ll need to do this:
You can provide comments by e-mail to BLM_AZ_YFOWEB@blm.gov with the subject line “LTVA Fee Proposal Comment” or by delivering/mailing your comments to:
BLM Yuma Field Office
7341 E 30th St, Suite A
Yuma, AZ 85365
Comments must be received by October 21, 2024.
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Although we haven’t stayed there and have no plans to, even at the new rate structure the 7 month permit works out to $2.85/day, while the short term permit good for up to a month works out to $6.66 day if you stayed a month. Still pretty reasonable, and while it may exceed general inflation, I’m pretty sure they’ve had increased costs for cleanup after reading several articles about the BLM land being left trashed.
Yep, some folks complain if their ice cream is too cold. For those wanting something for nothing, there’s always work camping.
Give me an example of “work camping” that equates to “something for nothing. 🙄
Perhaps I was too subtle/tangential. Some folks believe they are “entitled ” to have cheap campsites, or have them always available. Some do want “something for nothing” because they may be older or of limited means and complain TVing is “too expensive.” . The answer “work camping” is a means for them to get a campsite as a quid pro quo. State parks and Federal agencies are an example. Many are volunteer positions, some are paid (in addition to the free campsite). I have seen (on this platform) folks would rather wail, pull their hair, and gnash their teeth rather than consider alternative means to acheive their desired ends.
As for it being “reasonable,” bear in mind that the areas are habitable for about four months of every season. No one is going to camp on a dirt site with a view of dirt, where dump and water are a mile or more away and sometimes come with a couple of hours wait, no electricity, where the temperature is more than 100F for those shoulder months. Call it what it is, price gouging by a monopoly at the expense of mostly seniors. How may illegal actions did I just list? There is no competition; who else permits camping in the deserts with litle services. Surveying state parks and commercial parks, most of which are FHU, is irrelevent.
Curious it’s “gouging…at the expense of mostly seniors”? Do they ask your age when making reservations? Are you excluded if you are not a “senior”? I think everyone has the ability to decide if they want to utilize BLM land or not.
You don’t make reservations. You just show up, pay your money, and go look for a place to stop and camp.
Thank you, Russ and Tiña! 🙂 Well, Warren beat me to it, so I will merely add that the old 7-month permit worked out to essentially 87 cents/day. That seems awfully cheap, and, while an increase of approximately $2/day is a huge proportional change, it is pretty small nominally. Thanks again, have a great week, safe travels, and safe stays! 🙂
It’s about time. Even after the increase, this is incredibly inexpensive considering the cost of maintaining these sites and access roads to them, along with the necessary administrative supports.
Perhaps you should take a good look at the business plan. According to their own numbers, they will have a 100% profit margin. Any for profit company would kill to have such a profit margin. Where is the profit going? Ukraine?
100%?
FY2024 operating expenses = $2,101,628
FY2024 revenues using existing fee structure = $849,400
FY2024 revenues using proposed fee structure = $3,209,600
Operating expenses do not include any future replacement cost and other capital expenditures. “Future upgrades would include mandatory replacement of the LTVA sites’ existing potable water tanks and potable delivery locations that have been in continuous use since the early 1980s. Replacement costs for those tanks and the additional build out and return to service exceeds $1,000,000.00” & do not include other capital improvements.
Please explain your 100% profit margin claim!
Many of the same people who complain about the price increase or the cost of other life essentials going up. Don’t complain to their congressman and senators about the measly 2.5% increase in the federal retirement benefits.
Don’t you understand how the SS COLA is calculated???????
I have not been there yet but was looking forward to doing so, not so much any more! I think it’s bull crap that land belongs to the people of this country and to take advantage of us again and again is just wrong! and I get this from what I experienced this summer with state run campgrounds some were as high as 40.00 a night for a spot in the dirt! no water no elect. When are the people going to say enough is enough!
Yes it is our land and it is sad we have to be charged a fee to use it. But without user fees, there would be no road maintenance, clean up after the last pigs stayed there, etc. Face it, public land get abused and are the dumping spot for many who use them.
Greedy government price gouging!
Perhaps our hordes of north of the border neighbors will think twice now about making their long yearly journey.
I hope not. They boost the economy wherever they go.
If you had read the business plan proposal, you would have seen that those hordes from north of the border represent only 6.9% of LTVA permits.
At any rate,they also hog into anything RV park related in the sunbelt..along with pushing out locals in stores and restaurants. On the other hand I have run into some good ones that are decent about being a visitor…since we used to live in Arizona for a short while I can attest to this problem. No sympathy here.
Could you possibly sound any more racist?
Oh boy, someone had to throw in the R word without actually knowing what it’s definition is. That it what is fun about reading these comments!!!
Well then I think that my Social Security should go up 200% – 400% also since it has not increased that much in a decade. I would gladly allow them to “phase it in.”
as long as they back date my money due
While still a minority percentage, the Quartzite LTVA’s have increasingly become seasonal encampments for the troubled and destitute. When the temperatures rise, a growing number of “domiciles” are abandoned where they stand, leaving the cleanup costs on the taxpayers in the county.
By kicking up the charge, BLM thinks they’ll thin the crowd (and they will) but not without unintended consequences. It will merely scatter the challenges to non-LTVA areas that have even fewer patrols making the clean up costs even more burdensome.
The indicators of distress have been ominously coming for years. I wish I had answers instead of just observations. Their solution isn’t monetary though…
I am fine with a reasonable charge for services provided, not sure what services will come with this over the top increase.
Wondering if this is the same proposal I commented about months ago on FB concerning BLM subbing management to private for profit companies. An underlying tone was wanting to push RV’ers, ATV’ers and the like being forbidden to use a wide swath of land to preserve the environment. Not having had a chance to read this proposal, and not trusting our gov’t as far as I could throw my RV I’m suspicious. What “improvements” and when?
Agree there’s a huge problem with our uninvited invaders making their 3rd world mess of things. Enforcement of the boarder and our sovereignty would fix it.
Seriously? Does every problem somehow the fault of our Mexican neighbors?
We have been going to Quartzsite for years and usually stay only a few weeks at the free areas. However the last few years we’ve been meeting friends at the $40 LTVAs. I don’t know if I want to pay $200 to basically boondock in the desert for 2 weeks. We never use the amenities except for maybe the trash dumpster. I wonder what happened to the big dump station they never opened?
The blm is trying to raise it to $600 from $180 after years of ignoring the area and allowing everything they’ve complained about. This was intentional. They have planned this for years and want to chase ALL travelers away so they can lease our public lands to gold, oil, solar companies instead.
Write in your complaints and DO NOT PAY if they raise the price. It’s already cheaper to just pay for the dump and park on free areas. We must all take a stand no matter your situation.
I’m even preparing a class action lawsuit if it does go through because this is federal fraud, it will ruin all our travels and destroy the town of Quartzsite after the majority of us go somewhere else
1) They compared to local market prices huh? Last January I camped in a free area and drove 6 miles into town after 7 days to dump and fill fresh water for $20. Trash was taken to the county dumpster on other trips in the toad. Even if I add a couple gallons of diesel it would be about $28 a week for me. So maybe about $115/month to $140 /month with inflation is comparable. The BLM should lease 20 acres every few miles along the highway to multiple private entities on condition of building and maintaining fee-use dump/fill sites. Competition would then establish the true price. 2) BLM maintained under the current fee structure for years. What, all of a sudden has changed? Politics?
Fair and Reasonable as far as Federal Proposals go…✨