Holden Village’s Forest Service fees up drastically

HOLDEN VILLAGE, Wash. – Annual fees paid to the U.S. Forest Service by a north-central Washington Lutheran retreat will increase from about $700 to $50,000, due to a change in the way the federal agency assesses fees for camps.

Holden Village has held a Forest Service permit since 1961 to operate the remote community for all faiths. The retreat sits above the western shore of Lake Chelan, in an old mining camp that is only accessible by boat or trail.

In 2003, Congress passed the National Forest Organizational Camp Fee Improvement Act, charging all camps on national forest land 5 percent of their gross revenue. The act excluded camps that cater to youth or people with disabilities, Chelan District Ranger John Sheehan said.

At Holden Village, the fee is being phased in over five years, and will reach about $50,000 next year, he said.

Holden Village does not have regular phone service, but the village’s co-director Carol Hinderlie wrote in an e-mail that the increase in fees “creates a severe hardship.”

Paul Haines, Holden Village’s public works manager, wrote that the village will have to reduce operating costs, increase the amount of donations or increase charges to paying guests.

According to the Holden Village Web site, it charges adults $66 per day and children $17 to $53 per day depending on their age. Rates are reduced for longer stays. Donations offset the true costs of $69 per person per day, the Web page said.

“We are continuing to work on solutions to ward off increasing the cost to visit Holden Village so that it is an affordable destination and experience for visitors with limited resources,” he wrote.

The new fee amounts to about 3 percent of Holden Village’s $1.63 million operating budget for 2007, Haines wrote. About 60 percent of the budget comes from guest charges, with the rest made up from donations and other sources.

Sheehan said he’s met frequently with Holden Village directors and that they are reviewing their options, including changing the retreat center’s operating permit.

“I have checked with our national and regional offices to make sure this was intended to apply to Holden, and the answer I received is that it does apply,” he said.

As a permit holder, Holden Village has been “outstanding,” he said.

“I see them as a real asset. They’ve done so much work to preserve the history there,” he said, including work to maintain and preserve buildings that were built in the 1930s and are a part of the region’s history.