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CHARLESTON -- Less than two days after the Division of Natural Resources announced a pilot program that would introduce a fee to seven state parks in West Virginia, Gov. Jim Justice stepped in to cancel the program.
“The move was announced without my approval. It’s a bad idea and I’m going to fix it,” Justice said in a news release issued today.
Justice announced that he is putting the brakes on the recent decision by the Division of Natural Resources to charge park visitors a $2 fee.
Justice referred to the DNR’s announcement of the program as an “error” and canceled it.
“West Virginians are struggling and at this time there is no way I can go along with charging a fee to enjoy our state parks,” he said. “West Virginia’s state parks will remain free and open to the public. When I see a mistake, I make it right.”
Blackwater Falls State Park in Tucker County was one of seven West Virginia State Parks that would have required an entrance fee as part of the pilot project. The goal of the program was to ultimately support the state parks system in West Virginia by reducing the gap between annual expenditures and revenue.
The DNR anticipated that passes would generate an additional $1 million annually.
Visitors will have the option of purchasing a single day-use pass or an annual pass. For $2 per vehicle a daily pass can be purchased to enter any of the parks subject to this fee. Daily passes can be purchased at the pay station of the respective park entrance.
Money that is generated from daily fees -- $2 per vehicle - would have gone directly to the maintenance and upkeep of the park where the pass was purchased.
For unlimited entrance to any of the parks, the pilot program would have offered a $12 fee per vehicle. Money generated from the rate of annual passes would have assisted with the cost of maintenance, upkeep and renovation.
In addition to Blackwater Falls, the fee introduced by the DNR was set to be implemented at six other state parks in West Virginia including Coopers Rock State Forest in Bruceton Mills, Little Beaver State Park in Beaver, Pipestem Resort State Park in Pipestem, Babcock in Clifftop, Cacapon in Berkeley Springs and Valley Falls State Park in Fairmont.