The Bureau of
Land Management will require permits for overnight use in the King Range
Wilderness, part of the King Range National Conservation Area on northern
California’s Lost Coast, beginning Jan. 9, 2017. The requirement will not affect day-use visitors
or campgrounds outside the wilderness area.
The permit system will limit the number of people entering
the King Range Wilderness for overnight use to 60 entries per day during the peak
season of May 15-Sept. 15, and 30 entries per day during the non-peak season of
Sept. 16-May14.
Starting Jan. 9, 2017, King Range visitors can visit www.recreation.gov to book their overnight permits.
Permits will cost $6 per group. Visitors
can also purchase permits by visiting the King Range office in Whitethorn.
The new permitting requirement will help the BLM manage the
number of visitors, preserving the wilderness experience of solitude. Overnight use has increased by more than 150
percent since the King Range Wilderness was designated in 2006, from 3,300
overnight visitors to more than 9,500 in 2015.
Visitor days (number of visitors multiplied by the number of days they stay) have increased from 12,400 to 34,400 in the same time.
“The new permit
system will help meet the intent of the Wilderness Act by reducing overcrowding,” said Molly
Brown, BLM Arcata field manager. “Current use levels have negatively impacted the wilderness
character of the King Range Wilderness, particularly along the Lost Coast
Trail.”
The BLM decided
to put the permit system in place after receiving extensive public input over
more than a decade as part of the King Range National Conservation Area
Resource Management Plan and the King Range Wilderness Management Plan.
Additional information regarding the permit and
management plans are available online at (insert
address); by request to the BLM-Arcata
Field Office, (707) 825-2300; or request to the King Range Office, PO Drawer
189, Whitethorn, CA 95589, (707) 986-5400; or by sending an email request to CA338@BLM.GOV.
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