Outdoor recreation is fun!  Each year more and more people are visiting their National Forests, connecting themselves with nature in a variety of settings and activities.  Whether they choose to hike, picnic, camp, fish, or challenge themselves navigating a trail or waterway, the National Forests provide many great recreational opportunities.

Meeting the increasing needs of these forest visitors and delivering quality services, while protecting natural resources, challenges federal land management agencies like the Forest Service. To help, the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (REA) was passed. This Act allows the Forest Service to charge a modest fee for campgrounds, day use sites with certain facilities, high-impact recreation areas,  rental cabins and lookouts. In return, the majority of the proceeds from collecting recreation fees and selling passes go right back into maintaining and improving the sites visitors enjoy.  

District Ranger Rick Larson encourages visitors to see the kinds of work being done with the recreation fee money by visiting Auxiliary Dam, Old Isabella, South Fork Recreation Area and Camp 9 located on Isabella Lake or one of the numerous river access sites found along the Kern River corridor. Improvements made at these facilities in recent months include newly painted picnic tables, signs and restrooms, addition of new lighting fixtures, accessible portable toilets, weed abatement work, road maintenance, signing, water system and RV dump station upkeep and repairs, graffiti and hazard tree removal, flush restroom and vault toilet maintenance and repairs. The Forest Service also made repairs to the public courtesy docks at Old Isabella, South Fork Recreation Area, and Camp 9; and all three are up and operational according to Recreation Manager, Cheryl Bauer. In addition, fee revenue will be used this year to complete construction of the Granite River Access site on the Lower Kern River.  This Bureau of Land Management (BLM) managed facility will serve as a low water launch site.  Working in conjunction with BLM, the Forest Service offers whitewater boating opportunities on the Kern River to the public.

Site maintenance needs, improvements, as well as, accomplishments have been noted in a Strategic Action Plan developed for the Isabella sites, while national, regional, local accomplishment reports are available for your review by visiting the Forest Service website online at www.fs.fed.us.