Congress authorized the Recreational Fee Demonstration Program to help federal land management agencies provide high-quality recreational opportunities to visitors and protect resources. The program focuses on recreational activities at the following four land management agencies: the National Park Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Forest Service. Under the fee demonstration program, participating agencies can collect fees at several sites and use them to (1) enhance visitor services, (2) address a backlog of needs for repair and maintenance, and (3) manage and protect resources. The agencies applied "entrance fees" for basic admission to an area and "user fees" for specific activities such as camping or launching a boat. Under the law, 80 percent of program revenue must be used at the site where it was collected. The rest may be distributed to other sites that may or may not be participating in the demonstration program. Some of the sites GAO surveyed experimented with innovative fee designs and collection methods, such as reducing fees during off-peak seasons and allowing visitors to use credit cards, but room for additional innovation exists, particularly in the areas of fee collection and coordination. The agencies also need to make improvement in three program management areas: evaluating their managers' performance in administering the fee program, developing information on which fee-collection and coordination practices work best, and resolving interagency management issues.

In recent years, some reports prepared by advocacy groups have raised issues concerning the adequacy of the the National Park Service's (NPS) financial resources needed to effectively operate the park units. This report identifies: (1) funding trends for NPS operations & visitor fees for FY2001-2005; (2) specific funding trends for 12 selected high visitation park units & how, if at all, the funding trends have affected operations; & (3) recent management initiatives the NPS has undertaken to address fiscal performance & accountability of park units. The report recommends that the Dept. of the Interior allow park units to use visitor fee revenues to pay the costs of permanent employees administering projects funded by visitor fees. Illustrations.