Los Padres National Forest officials held a two-hour “drop-in” workshop Tuesday afternoon at their Santa Maria office on proposed changes to more than 60 of the forest's developed recreational sites.

Local forest managers have reviewed operations and maintenance of campgrounds, picnic areas and trailheads to see where improvements or changes should be made, according to the Forest Service.

Proposed changes include removal of a campground in Colson Canyon, reducing the season of use for some others and possibly increasing the fees charged to use others.

“Our goal is to do a better job of meeting forest visitors' needs, and make our facilities more financially and environmentally sustainable,” said Forest Supervisor Ken Heffner in a written statement. “Many of our facilities were built 30 to 50 years ago. Visitors' preferences have changed and some of our sites fall short of public expectations.”

In response, the Forest Service is proposing a five-year program to address these needs and focus resources, officials said.

Of the 108 developed sites in Los Padres National Forest, 62 are proposed to have changes including improving visitor information and bilingual signs, and repairing or replacing toilets.

In the Santa Lucia Ranger District, suggested changes include:

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n Remove degraded facilities at Colson Campground and return the site to a natural condition;

n Remove inoperable water facilities at Figueroa Campground;

n Replace toilet facilities at Brookshire, Davy Brown, Figueroa Lookout, Hi Mountain, Horseshoe, Wagon Flat and La Panza developed sites.

Changes for the Santa Barbara Ranger District include:

n Reduce the use season at Big Caliente by three weeks;

n Consider increasing the camping fee at Fremont, Los Prietos, Paradise, and Upper Oso to better balance operating costs;

n Reduce use season by up to three months at La Cumbre, Middle Santa Ynez, P-Bar, and Rock campsites;

n Consider concessionaire management at some existing sites.

The Forest Service analysis and more information about the program are available at the forest Web site, www.fs.fed.us/r5/lospadres, and at Forest Service offices.

In addition to Tuesday's “drop-in” hours, forest officials are seeking public comment on the proposed changes in writing until Sept. 28.

Comments can be submitted electronically to comments-pacificsouthwest-los-padres@fs.fed.us, or mailed to RFA-POW, Los Padres National Forest, 6755 Hollister Ave., Suite 150, Goleta, 93117.

September 12, 2007