Date of Hearing: March 26, 2019

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON WATER, PARKS, AND WILDLIFE

Eduardo Garcia, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 783 (

Author:Bigelow) – As Introduced Ver:February 19, 2019

SUBJECT: The DPR: American River Parkway: concessionaires

SUMMARY: This bill requires the Department of Parks and Recreation to negotiate specific concessions along the American River. Specifically, this bill:

Requires the DPR to meet and negotiate with existing recreational concessionaires located on the South, Middle, and North Forks of the American River.
Focuses the purpose of the negotiations to finding a solution that will protect natural resources and allow existing businesses to continue to operate.
Requires the DPR to keep in place existing contracts until January 1, 2026, to allow existing recreational concessionaires to come into compliance with the “best responsible bidder” law requirements.

EXISTING LAW:

Establishes the California state park system and vests the DPR with control of the state park system and responsibility for administering, protecting, developing, and interpreting state parks for the use and enjoyment of the public. (Public Resources Code [PRC] §5001 et seq.)
Requires the DPR to, following classification or reclassification of a unit by the State Park and Recreation Commission, and prior to the development of any new facilities in any previously classified unit, prepare a General Plan or revise any existing plan for the unit.
Requires that all contracts authorizing occupancy of any portion of the state park system for a period of more than three years be awarded to the best responsible bidder. (PRC §5080.05)
Requires the State Parks and Recreation Commission to:
Approves general plans for units of the state park system. The general plan for a unit serves as the guide for the future development, management, and operation of the unit. (PRC §5002.2)
Determines whether proposed concessions for units are compatible with the unit's general plan. (PRC §5080.03c)
Reviews proposed concession contracts that are expected to involve a total investment or estimated annual gross sales in excess of $500,000 to determine whether such concessions are compatible with the classifications of the units in which they will be operated. (PRC §5080.20a)

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill is keyed fiscal.

COMMENTS: This bill is meant to provide a five-year period to allow the DPR and existing small business concessionaires operating on the Middle and North Forks of the American River the opportunity to finalize a path to full compliance with current law.

Author’s Statement:

As an outdoorsman and business owner, I am happy to author AB 783. This measure would simply offer an additional five years to allow the Department of Parks and Recreation and the concessionaires along the South, Middle and North Forks of the American River to figure out a path to compliance. The American River is loved by many organizations and constituents, not to mention the home of many ecosystems, and it would be a great loss to my district if some of these opportunities to experience the River, offered by these businesses, were to disappear.

Background:

The DPR. The DPR mission is to provide for the health, inspiration, and education of the people of California by helping to preserve the state's extraordinary biological diversity, protecting its most valued natural and cultural resources, and creating opportunities for high-quality outdoor recreation. The DPR property includes 280 state park units, over 340 miles of coastline, 970 miles of lake and river frontage, 15,000 campsites, and 4,500 miles of trails. The DPR contains the largest and most diverse recreational, natural, and cultural heritage holdings of any state agency in the nation. More than 67 million people annually visit California’s state park system.

The American River Concessions. The three tributaries (North, Middle and South) of the American River are heavily used for whitewater rafting recreation. Many a family and school group has floated past Lollipop tree and dropped into Satan’s Cesspool—with more than a few folks swimming a few meters beyond. The river hydrology and geology make these tributaries ideal for most levels of whitewater rafters. The three forks are easily the most heavily utilized whitewater resources west of the Rockies. Current commercial use on these rivers can mostly be described as “mom and pop” organizations. Individual proprietorships or closely held private corporations and LLCs (limited-liability corporations) run the river.

The DPR began managing access to the American River in the early 1980s. Their role varies by location. The Middle and North Forks of the American River lie within the Auburn State Recreation Area with the DPR contracting with the US Bureau of Reclamation to manage the resources. The DPR issues permits (concession contracts) for commercial access, and has done so since 1982. In order to safely manage impacts to the river, commercial outfitters worked with the DPR to adopt a draft management plan with numerical limitations and other mitigations in 1992.

On the South Fork, El Dorado County is the lead managing agency. The department’s role is limited to management of the take-out location at Folsom Lake near Chili Bar run.

River outfitters are a unique form of business. Outfitters operate hundreds of publicly owned rivers, with the vast majority of them managed by federal agencies, including: The US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and the National Parks. The US Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management control most of those permitted rivers, and they employ a system that is utilized in El Dorado County on the South Fork of the American River. They issue permits for existing operators based on favorable reviews of their operations. This allows for companies to grow, offer quality trips to the general public, share in caring for the resources they operate on, and if they choose to, sell their operations such that the owners can recoup some of their years of investment. This allows for a stable business climate that serves the resource and the public that uses it.

Negotiations on Current Concession Law. According to the Author, over the past five years, the DPR has been integrating their current concession law requirements into the river management plan. Strict interpretation of the law and application of those requirements would force the DPR to seek bids from prospective companies to provide the services currently rendered on those rivers. Current permit holders are concerned that the DPR would have to offer all of the 39 existing concessionaires a contract to continue their services. They feel that if this happens, multiple concessionaires will be put out of business in part because of their multi-river business model. This bill would allow for continued negotiations while maintaining existing permits and concessions on the river.

Committee Amendments: None Suggested.

Supporting Arguments: Supporters argue that recent decisions by DPR staff have mandated a process that threatens to put dozens of businesses, many of which have been providing quality trips for 40 years or more, out of business. AB 783 provides both the DPR and the outfitters an opportunity to seek a solution that meets the needs of the state, the outfitters, and the public they serve.

Opposing Arguments: None received.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

California Outdoors

Opposition

None on file

Analysis Prepared by: Catherine Freeman / W., P., & W. / (916) 319-2096

AB 783: State parks: American River: concessionaires.

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