New Wilderness Fee

Public lands

For the first time, hikers in Desolation Wilderness - the nation’s most popular wilderness area - will pay fees next year to underwrite the U.S. Forest Service’s cost of managing the area.

The agency plans to charge day visitors $3 each and overnight backpackers $8 a night in the wild high Sierras’ area west of Lake Tahoe, Calif.

The fees are expected to generate about $295,000 annually.

Part of a pilot program authorized by Congress, the proposal would allow the Forest Service to improve supervision of the rugged, glacier-carved area.

“If we managed Desolation Wilderness in the best possible way, we can process permits, maintain campgrounds, restore the wilderness and manage wildlife and the fishery,” said Don Lane of the agency’s Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.

Desolation had 70,000 day visitors and 30,000 overnight visitors last year.

The Forest Service has prohibited campfires in the heavily used area since 1990 because of damage caused by numerous fire rings.

Lane said the agency expects a drop in visitors to Desolation Wilderness because of the fees. That prospect was welcomed by Laurel Ames of the Sierra Club, who said, “It’s about time.”