Bikers using the George S. Mickelson Trail and campers at most state parks would pay more next year in a proposed package of fee hikes set to come before the state Game, Fish & Parks Commission this week.

GF&P parks and recreation director Doug Hofer of Pierre and his staff will recommend to the commission during its meeting Thursday and Friday in Pierre that the fees be increased to keep pace with inflation. This fee hike would not include Custer State Park camping fees, which the commission voted to increase earlier this year.

Hofer declined Tuesday to give specifics of the statewide fee recommendation, but he said they would include an increase of $1 to $2 for basic camping fees. Fees for camping cabins and lodges at state parks also could go up, he said.

Camping and park-user fees help cover operating costs for the state park system, which includes the Mickelson Trail, Custer State Park, Rocky Point Recreation Area near Belle Fourche, Angostura Recreation Area near Hot Springs and Shadehill Recreation Area near Lemmon.

The fee package will not include a proposal to increase park-entrance fees, Hofer said.

"These fees that we're going to be increasing are strictly the camping and lodging fees," he said. "These users derive benefits designed specifically for them from those facilities, and the fees are set in order to cover operating costs in those areas."

Park-entrance, camping and other fees paid by park users provide 52 percent of the operating budget for the state parks system, Hofer said. The state general fund provides another 20 percent, and about 15 percent comes from federal fund, including U.S. Army Corps of Engineers money for Missouri River recreation areas.

Other revenues sources, including revenues from concession leases and the sale of buffalo and timber from Custer State Park, make up the remainder of the operating budget.

Custer State Park, Lewis and Clark Recreation Area near Yankton and a few other park areas generate enough money through their fees to pay their own operating expenses. Most parks don't, however. And none pay for themselves if capital improvements and infrastructure developments are included, Hofer said.

"There are none here that are self-sustaining, nor any elsewhere that I know of, when you figure in all the costs," he said. "They're public parks. They're not intended to be profit centers."

If the commission accepts the staff fee increase, the package will be proposed for action at the group's next meeting Nov. 1 and 2 in Gettysburg. That provides time for public comment on the proposal before a final vote at that meeting.

There also will be a public hearing at which comment will be allowed on Nov. 1 at 2 p.m.

Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcityjournal.com