Hells Canyon boaters may face fee

Boaters who enter the wild and scenic section of the Snake River in Hells Canyon may soon have to pay a user fee, according to a proposal from the Wallowa- Whitman National Forest. The agency is floating a $5 to $10 fee that would be used to bolster agency budgets for maintenance of recreation and historic sites in the canyon as well as measures to improve health and safety of visitors, and to increase the number of float and jet boat patrols there. It would be charged per person and cover them for the length of their trip - whether it lasts a single day or several days. Jake Lubera, deputy ranger at the forest’s Wallowa Mountain Office in Enterprise, Ore., said the fee, as proposed, would generate an estimated $170,000 to $350,000 annually, depending on use levels and the amount charged. It would apply to a 70-mile stretch of river between Cache Creek Ranch and Hells Canyon Dam/ Eric Barker , Lewiston Tribune. More here .