2018 SWOCC Elliott State Forest Draft Recreation Plan

Chapter 3. Camping

Fig. 3.1. West Fork Millicoma Fishing Camp. Photograph November 8, 2017, Bob Zybach.

Camping
By Maggie Boone, Amy Kronsberg, and Scott Guthrie

Camping is a way for people to relax and enjoy nature. There are many ways to camp like: tents, RVs, yurts, and cabins. Providing people with options for camping around or in the Elliott will make access to the forest easier.

Make fire pits out of cement so that we can avoid people having too big of a fire in their sites so that no wildfires break out. According to the Riley Ranch caretakers, it also saves a bunch of money in the long run as opposed to using metal fire pits.

We could also have a camp host in each campground to make sure that everything is running smoothly to make sure the people who are camping are comfortable and following the rules that will be posted in every site so that if they are not doing what they are not supposed to, then we can show them exactly what rules they are not following.

We will provide a few small tent site campgrounds on the edge of the forest in a few locations as well as garbage cans and bathrooms to keep the ecosystem healthy. We will also tell people about the other campgrounds where there are hookups for RV camping if that is what they want.

People already go camping in the forest. Adding four small tent campgrounds with twenty sites each will make it easier to keep track of people and keep them safe. We must find areas where people are not hunting or birding so that people don’t disturb the other recreation areas. Also telling people about the options that are around the Elliott would be good if they have an RV.

Charging $40 a night could bring in $3,200 a night if all the sites are full and if we charge $5 for each extra vehicle and all sites had one extra that would be another $400, and we would only have to spend $300 a week minimum for utilities so it would come out to be $3,300. Some of that money can go toward the schools for funding.

It could potentially be difficult to get the equipment into the areas set aside for camping development unless we keep the campgrounds on the edge of the forest. It could potentially harm the ecosystem. The campgrounds need to be placed strategically around where there is no possibility of interfering with any of the other recreation activities in the forest, and it would avoid destroying any areas that we don’t want to be destroyed or used for camping.

Table 3.1 Elliott Forest Recreation Area Campgrounds: Seasons and Facilities

BLM: US Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management
RV: Recreational Vehicle

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