The Bureau of Land Management Arizona Strip District Office is extending the public comment period to obtain feedback on proposals detailed in the Paria Canyon-Coyote Buttes Special Management Area Draft Business Plan, including changes to the fee structure and permit reservation process. The deadline for comments is now Oct 16.
The plan proposes to streamline the permit reservation process by transitioning all permit operations for Paria Canyon Overnight, Coyote Buttes North (including the Wave), and Coyote Buttes South to a single reservation portal on recreation.gov beginning in early 2016.
The plan would eliminate the existing next-day, walk-in lottery for Coyote Buttes North and move to a 48-hour online lottery, thus providing visitors to the Arizona Strip and southern Utah advance knowledge of whether they can obtain permits.
Moving the system to recreation.gov will also free BLM staff to provide critical face-to-face safety and weather updates to visitors.
Under the proposed plan, fees would change for each of the units. Fees have not changed since they were established in 1997.
The proposed permit fee change for Paria Canyon Overnight is from $5 per person per night to $10 per person per night. The existing fee for Wire Pass, Buckskin Gulch, and Paria Canyon day-use is $6 per person per day. The proposed fee would decrease to $5 per person per day.
The proposed fee change for Coyote Buttes North and South would be from the current $7 and $5 per person per day respectively to $12 per person per day for each area. The camping fee at White House Campground would increase to $10—up from $5—per night per site.
A $6 service fee would also be charged by recreation.gov for each permit issued.
The revised business plan does not address adjusting the number of permits issued per day.
The draft plan was originally released for comment on July 15. The extended deadline will provide the public with additional time to study and review the details in the proposed plan and submit comments to the agency. The public is invited to provide feedback on the permit process and proposed fee adjustments, both of which are addressed in the Paria Canyon-Canyon Buttes Special Management Area Draft Business Plan, by Oct. 16. Comments may be provided by mail or in person at 345 East Riverside Drive, St. George, UT 84790 or via email to blm_az_vcnm@blm.gov.
Click here to view a copy of the business plan and for more information on the Paria Canyon-Coyote Buttes Special Recreation Area.
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BLM seeks public input on Paria Canyon-Coyote Buttes Draft Business Plan
