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Category: Local News Releases Local News Releases
Published: 17 December 2014 17 December 2014

Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument has begun soliciting public opinion about a proposed entrance fee increase to possibly be implemented during 2015. If this proposal is implemented entrance fees will rise from $3 to $5 sometime during the summer of 2015. No decision has yet been made on the potential increase and public comment is being solicited about the proposal. This would be the first time fees have increased here since entrance fees were authorized. The increase would not affect anyone who enters with a federal lands pass. Visitors under 16 years of age will remain free.

All monies collected from entrance fees go directly to projects which benefit the visitor.
The following projects which will take place in 2015 have been funded using entrance fees:
1) Repairs and upgrades to the Gila Cliff Dwellings Trail
2) Re-vegetation and erosion control in areas burnt in the Miller Fire of 2011
3) Renovation of the Visitor Contact Station at the Trail Head including upgrades to the kennels
4) Upgrade to the Emergency Exit at the Visitor Center Museum to allow safe egress to those with mobility or vision impairment
5) Production of a new Gila Cliff Dwellings movie for the Visitor Center Museum

We hope to fund the following projects from fee monies in the near future:
1) Rehabilitation and modernization of the Visitor Center Museum exhibits
2) Design and construction of Interpretive Waysides and additional benches for the Gila Cliff Dwellings Trail
3) Moving the first section of the Gila Cliff Dwellings Trail out of the bed of Cliff Dweller Creek to improve safety, reduce closures and protect the environment of the stream.
Comments on this proposal can be sent to the NPS Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) website at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/Gilafeeproposal or by mail to Superintendent: Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument HC 68 Box 100 Silver City New Mexico 88061.

A decision on increasing fees has not yet been made-This posting is part of our effort to solicit public comment before we make a final decision.