Horse enthusiasts are challenging a proposed fee that would make camping at Northrup Creek Horse Camp 11 times more expensive a night beginning this summer.

The Astoria Forest Protection District, citing budget cuts, released a plan that would require campers with horses to apply for a special-use permit. The permit would charge $175 per night per campground for a minimum two-night stay. Campers in previous years could pay a $15 per-night fee upon arrival at the site without a permit.

The Oregon Department of Forestry has called for $13 million in cuts in the upcoming state budget, 70 percent of which will come from districts in northwest Oregon, Astoria Assistant District Forester Ty Williams said. The department has instituted a hiring freeze along with the cuts, meaning just three staff members — based out of the district office an hour away from Northrup Creek — manage the five campgrounds in Clatsop State Forest. With all of the expenses associated with maintaining the campground, the department likely will not receive any profit from any fee increases, Williams said.

Though open through November, the 11-campground site just north of State Highway 202 between Jewell and Birkenfeld reaches peak use typically from Memorial Day weekend through September. In 2015 and 2016, campers used the site an average 21 percent of the available time in these months, according to the state.

Northrup Creek, which also accepts a limited number of other campers, is the lowest utilized of the campgrounds in Clatsop State Forest, Williams said.

On top of the added revenue, the special-use permit will allow the state to better track whether or not campers are paying for the full length of their stay.

“We’ve been discussing the use and lack of use for several years,” Williams said, “knowing with these cuts we won’t be able to offer the same level of service we offered in the past.”  

Guaranteed spots

“People won’t travel a long way out here if they aren’t guaranteed a site,” said Jennifer Bunch, treasurer of Oregon Equestrian Trails North Coast Chapter.

But Oregon Equestrian Trails, which helps maintain the state-owned campground, day-use area and adjacent 9-mile trail for horse riders, has strongly opposed the fee hike and two-night requirement. Bunch, of Svensen, and group member Diane Berry, of Astoria, who led the effort to build and maintain the camp before and after its opening in 2005, estimate they use the camp three to six times each summer. The group’s members have spent hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars working on projects such as tree removal and construction of a storage shed. A trailhead at the camp is even named after Berry.

The main draw to the camp is the variety of terrain and wildlife on the trail, members say.

“They called us the jewel of horse camps in the state,” Bunch said.

Though they say they will still make the annual trips, others may not be as inclined.

“It’s totally unrealistic for this camp,” Berry said. “That will effectively kill the camp.”

Williams held a meeting with Oregon Equestrian Trails’ members in late February about the proposed plan that seemed to cause confusion. Members decried the fact that the camp was being closed without a public comment period

“He told us it was closing and that it would only be available for special-use permit,” Bunch said. “That’s why we initially were up in arms, and we still are up in arms. We were under the impression it was a done deal.”

But Williams recalls telling them the camp would still be open and that the special-use permit plan was just a proposal. He said he asked for alternatives from the group but did not receive any at the time.

“I told them I wanted to stop any rumors the horse camp is closing,” Williams said. “I was totally honest and upfront with them from the get-go.”

The Department of Forestry then announced in early March it would accept written comments from last Monday through May 4 on the department’s webpage or at twilliams@odf.state.or.us. Williams so far has received dozens of phone calls and emails about the camp.

State Sen. Betsy Johnson has also heard from the public about the camp.

“The contacts with my office were really cranky,” she said on her weekly radio show in early March. “Just calling them and saying, ‘You’re closed,’ was not the right solution. I’m not really impressed with how the department is handling public outreach right now.”

Proposed alternatives have included keeping the rate at $15 per night for a period of time during the summer or scrapping the two-night requirement. Oregon Equestrian Trails has offered to handle more of the maintenance load and devise new ways to promote the camp.

The Astoria District Recreation Advisory Committee will hold a meeting with public comment on April 4 at 5:30 p.m. at the Department of Forestry’s Astoria Office.

Williams doubts the current proposal will be the one the department finally decides to implement.

“It’s not a perfect plan. I know that,” he said. “There’s been more awareness of the lack of use at Northrup Creek. I’ve seen that as a positive.”


By Jack Heffernan, The Daily Astorian

SOURCE: http://www.dailyastorian.com/Local_News/20170324/horse-pucky-fee-increase-special-permit-rile-horse-campers