Recreation fee authority

Beginning in fiscal year 2005 and thereafter, the Secretary may establish, modify, charge, and collect recreation fees at Federal recreational lands and waters as provided for in this section. Recreation fees shall be established in a manner consistent with the following criteria: The Secretary shall establish the minimum number of recreation fees and shall avoid the collection of multiple or layered recreation fees for similar uses, activities, or programs. The Secretary shall not charge any standard amenity recreation fee or expanded amenity recreation fee for Federal recreational lands and waters administered by the Bureau of Land Management, the Forest Service, or the Bureau of Reclamation under this chapter for any of the following: An entity that pays a special recreation permit fee or similar permit fee shall not be subject to a road cost-sharing fee or a fee for the use of highways or roads that are open to private, noncommercial use within the boundaries of any Federal recreational lands or waters, as authorized under section 537 of this title. The Secretary shall not charge an entrance fee or standard amenity recreation fee for the following: Nothing in this chapter shall limit the use of recreation opportunities only to areas designated for collection of recreation fees. The Secretary of the Interior may charge an entrance fee for a unit of the National Park System, including a national monument administered by the National Park Service, or for a unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System. The Secretary shall not charge an entrance fee for Federal recreational lands and waters managed by the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, or the Forest Service. Except as limited by subsection (d), the Secretary may charge a standard amenity recreation fee for Federal recreational lands and waters under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, or the Forest Service, but only at the following: An area— that contains all of the following amenities: Except as limited by subsection (d), the Secretary of the Interior may charge an expanded amenity recreation fee, either in addition to an entrance fee or by itself, at Federal recreational lands and waters under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service or the United States Fish and Wildlife Service when the Secretary of the Interior determines that the visitor uses a specific or specialized facility, equipment, or service. Except as limited by subsection (d), the Secretary may charge an expanded amenity recreation fee, either in addition to a standard amenity fee or by itself, at Federal recreational lands and waters under the jurisdiction of the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, or the Bureau of Reclamation, but only for the following facilities or services: Use of developed campgrounds that provide at least a majority of the following: Use of developed swimming sites that provide at least a majority of the following: The Secretary— On review of a completed application developed under subparagraph (A), as applicable, and a determination by the Secretary that the applicant is eligible for the special recreation permit, the Secretary may issue to the applicant a special recreation permit, subject to any terms and conditions that are determined to be necessary by the Secretary. A special recreation permit issued under this paragraph may include an authorization for sales that are incidental in nature to the permitted use of the Federal recreational lands and waters, except where otherwise prohibited by law. The Secretary may charge a special recreation permit fee for the issuance of a special recreation permit in accordance with this paragraph. For purposes of subparagraphs (D) and (E) of this paragraph, the Secretary shall establish and may charge a predetermined fee, described in clause (ii) of this subparagraph, for a special recreation permit described in clause (iii) or (iv) of section 6801(13)(A) of this title for a specific type of use on a unit of Federal recreational lands and waters, consistent with the criteria set forth in clause (iii) of this subparagraph. A predetermined fee described in clause (i) shall be— A predetermined fee under clause (i) shall— The Secretary may, at the discretion of the Secretary, establish and charge a fee for a special recreation permit described in clause (i) or (ii) of section 6801(13)(A) of this title. If the Secretary elects to charge a fee for a special recreation permit described in section 6801(13)(A)(iii) of this title, the Secretary shall charge the recreation service provider, based on the election of the recreation service provider— Subject to subparagraph (G), if the Secretary elects to charge a fee for a special recreation permit described in section 6801(13)(A)(iv) of this title, the Secretary shall charge the recreation service provider, based on the election of the recreation service provider— For the purposes of subparagraphs (D)(ii) and (E)(ii), the Secretary shall calculate the adjusted gross receipts collected for each trip or event authorized under a special recreation permit, using either of the following calculations, based on the election of the recreation service provider: The sum of— the product obtained by multiplying— the quotient obtained by dividing— The difference between— the sum of— Notwithstanding subparagraph (E), the Secretary may charge a recreation service provider a minimum annual fee for a special recreation permit described in section 6801(13)(A)(iv) of this title. Nothing in this paragraph affects any fee for— Nothing in this paragraph affects the ability of the Secretary to recover any administrative costs under section 8549 of this title. The collection of a special recreation permit fee under this paragraph shall not affect the authority of the Secretary to collect an entrance fee, a standard amenity recreation fee, or an expanded amenity recreation fee authorized under subsections (e), (f), and (g). The Secretary shall post clear notice of any entrance fee, standard amenity recreation fee, expanded amenity recreation fee, and available recreation passes— The Secretary shall include in publications distributed at a unit or area or described in subparagraph (A) the notice described in that subparagraph. Beginning on January 1, 2026, the Secretary shall annually post, at the location at which a recreation fee described in paragraph (1)(A) is collected, clear notice of— To the extent practicable, the Secretary shall post clear notice at the location at which work is performed using recreation fee and recreation pass revenues collected under this section. Not later than January 1, 2025, and not later than 60 days after the beginning of each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary shall post on the website of the applicable Federal land management agency a searchable list of each use during the preceding fiscal year of the recreation fee or recreation pass revenues collected under this section. The list required under subparagraph (A) shall include, with respect to each use described in that subparagraph— A recreation service provider may inform a customer of the recreation service provider of any fee charged by the Secretary under this section. In addition to providing onsite payment methods, the Secretaries may collect payment online for— An online payment collected under paragraph (1) that is associated with a specific unit or area of a Federal land management agency shall be distributed in accordance with section 6804(c) of this title.