The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
In order to help recover more of its program delivery costs, Saskatchewan Environment is increasing some parks, fishing and Crown land resource fees. "Some provincial park fees will increase this year so that the department can continue to provide visitors with recreational and educational opportunities," Environment Minister David Forbes said. "This is the first park fee increase in four years and is required to help offset the cost of inflation by recovering additional operating costs from park users." The annual park entry permit is going up by $8 from $42 to $50. A new $3 daily campfire permit is being introduced to cover the cost of providing firewood and to encourage responsible use of the resource. Saskatchewan resident annual angling licences are going up from $25 to $30, Canadian and non-residents annual angling licences increase to $60 in 2004 and non-residents will increase again to $80 in 2005. All park revenue goes directly back into the parks system and helps maintain services and facilities. Thirty per cent of fishing and hunting licence fees go directly to the Fish and Wildlife Development Fund to help purchase and manage fish and wildlife habitat. Some charges for the use of Crown resource land will also increase, including the lease fee for property in a surveyed subdivision on Crown land outside of a provincial park. Rental rates will be based on six per cent of the fair market value of the land and bring rates in line with fees charged by other jurisdictions. Increases will take effect April 1st, 2004. The lease rates for cottages in provincial parks are also under review. This review will examine the potential of switching to a fair value assessment process to ensure there is fairness and equity among park cottagers. The last provincial park cottage fee increase occurred in 1993 and some people leasing cottages in provincial parks may now be paying less than people with similar property outside of the parks. "The public expects resource users to pay their fair share for use of the province's resources, so user fees are being adjusted to reflect market changes and inflation," Forbes said. "Our park visitors, anglers and other Crown resource users have access to some of the most outstanding public resources in Canada and our fees are competitive with those of other provinces."
