Article

Your Dollars at Work

Trail Crew transports boards across Siskiwit Lake strapped to canoes.
Repairing trails at Isle Royale can test your ingenuity. To repair sections of the Ishpeming Trail in 2013, trail crew strapped replacement boards to three canoes and paddled across Lake Siskiwit.

NPS

The collection of entrance fees and sale of passes at Isle Royale National Park directly impacts the sustaining and maintaining of visitor services. Trails are repaired and cleared, park rangers interpret the wildlife, scenery, and history, and the Ranger III is kept in good repair so that it may safely continue its Lake Superior service.

How Fee Dollars Work

Since 2004, the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act has provided the mechanism for fee collection at U.S. recreation sites to provide funds for improvements that directly enhance the visitor experience. Such funds can be utilized for facility enhancement related directly to visitor enjoyment, interpretation, habitat restoration, and law enforcement. Generally, between 80 percent and 100 percent of those fees are retained by the park where they are generated. Balances may be carried over from year to year, allowing management to plan and prioritize the most effective use of funds. Where it is feasible, the park displays signage at locations that have been improved with fee collection funds, to express gratitude and celebrate the impact of your fee dollars at work.

Isle Royale Fee Dollar Projects

Fee Dollars at a Glance

trail crew worker clearing tree fall with chainsaw, wood chips shooting from the active cut

Blazing Trails

Fee dollars keep trails and campgrounds maintained.

park ranger presents interpretive program to crowd of a dozen along the cold, rocky shoreline

Inspiring Audiences

Fee dollars support interpretive programming and tours.

Ranger III navigating through the Rock Harbor channel

Maintaining Infrastructure

Fee dollars keep mechanical systems and docks operational.


Isle Royale National Park

Last updated: February 2, 2024