Mike W. Bryant
Northern News Services
Published Friday, December 19, 2008

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The territorial government will go ahead with a plan for higher fees and shorter stays for long-term campers after unveiling survey results largely in support of the new measures.

But survey or not, campers accustomed to spending the entire summer at campgrounds at Prelude Lake and Reid Lake are still unhappy.

"I know what I'll be doing, I won't be camping here anymore," said Miro Hebik, who argues the survey was skewed against full-season campers.

"I'm going to take my camper and I will spend three weeks down south."

Every year, prospective campers gather for a ballot draw in hopes of winning one of 40 full-season campsites available at Reid and Prelude for a price of $500 for four months.

That will change next year now that the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment has announced that full-season campers will only get two months for the same price.

Hebik said what used to cost $500 will now cost $1,850 if ballot draw winners stay the full four months. That's because after two months, those campers will have to pay the daily permit rate for non-powered sites with camper-trailer access, which is going up to $22.50 from $15 this year.

"According to their new rules that means an increase of 270 per cent," said Hebik. "They've shortened the season by two months and the rest of the days you'll be paying a daily rate, which is $22.50 - $1,850 for four months of camping."

Richard Zieba, the department's director of tourism and parks, said 785 people were contacted for the $28,000 survey, which was launched last summer after the department met with more than 120 Yellowknife campers, many of them outraged after the department attempted to change the rules at the start of the camping season.

Many complained the department was too focused on attracting tourists while ignoring the concerns of the local camping community. The department, meanwhile, argued that too many people were being turned away from the ballot draw and that cutting their seasons in half would allow more Yellowknife campers to get a spot.

The department quickly backed down and promised to consult with campers before making any changes to fees or the amount of time available for extended-stay camp sites. Besides the telephone survey, the department also conducted an online and campsite component to the survey, which gathered close to another 200 participants.

The telephone survey reports that 61 per cent indicated that residents and tourists should get equal priority. As for hiking permit fees, 83 per cent reported that was OK if operational costs increase.

"I was pleased and maybe a little bit surprised that people recognized that as operational costs increase, it's reasonable to increase our fees," said Zieba.

He said campground fees haven't increased since 2000, and campers haven't been surveyed since prior to that.

Only the park services online reservation system got a bad review, with 66 per cent of NWT residents saying they were dissatisfied with it.

But it's the survey result on extended campground sites that rankled Hebik, which indicated only 18 per cent of respondents supported extended stay campsites for the full four months.

"If they wanted to get this result then that's why they've structured it this way," said Hebik.

"They surveyed over 350 people who are not residents of the NWT. What interest would they have in long-term camping? None."

Janice King, another extended-stay camper at Reid Lake, said her preference is for the status quo but she was nonetheless resigned to the fact that changes are coming.

"I don't think it's really fair but I honestly don't think we're going to get any better," said King.