The state Senate is considering a bill that would have the Board of Land and Natural Resources adopt rules to impose more fees on nonresidents visiting state parks and trails.
The fees would go to the state park special fund, which is used to pay for park staff, maintenance and programming.
Ten state parks, including Diamond Head State Monument, already require an entry fee for nonresidents.
But DLNR Division of State Parks Administrator Curt Cottrell told the Senate Ways and Means Committee that the bill is already being implemented.
”We're basically doing everything that the bill is requesting. At this point, we are doing studies and my testimony has the eight criteria that we typically apply to the state park units that are under consideration for fees,” Cottrell said.
“So we have 10 collecting now and five that are under examination. We have the rules... where we've already had the board designate which state parks will be applicable to fees.”
Senate Ways and Means Chair Donovan Dela Cruz said that the bill is necessary to implement the program faster.
The board's criteria for whether a fee should be implemented include the number of out-of-state visitors to the park and the accessibility of collecting a fee.
The five parks already being considered for a nonresident fee are Kua Bay, Rainbow Falls and Kealakekua Bay on Hawaiʻi Island, Wailuā River on Kauaʻi, and the state park on Tantalus on Oʻahu.
