The lush green foliage along a trail at the Mount Emily Recreation Area near La Grande is pictured on June 22, 2022. The Union County Board of Commissioners voted in December 2024 to implement a parking program for the nonmotorized side of MERA.

UNION COUNTY — All visitors to the Mount Emily Recreation Area near La Grande will find themselves financially supporting this natural resource in the future.

The Union County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted Dec. 18 to start a parking permit program at the recreation area.

“The purpose of this is to generate revenue and funding to put back into that nonmotorized trail system for maintenance, development (and) operations,” Parks Coordinator Josh Ford said at the meeting.

At an information session during a previous meeting, Ford told commissioners the program would help MERA be self-sustaining without needing to rely on general fund dollars. The fees will go toward maintaining the trails, staging areas and related facilities.

The parking permit program will be implemented only on the nonmotorized side of MERA and will affect the parking areas at Owsley Canyon trailhead, Lower Igo trailhead and Upper Igo trailhead.

A day-use parking pass will cost $5, and an annual pass will cost $30. A reduced-rate annual pass, which costs $20, will be available for active military personnel, veterans, emergency services personnel, law enforcement officers and low-income families.

The program does not affect motorized recreation users on the Fox Hill area of MERA. These users already help support and fund the recreation area through the purchase of off-highway vehicle permits, which are required to operate motorized vehicles on public lands. This also allows the county to receive funding for MERA.

Once the system is in place, parking permits will be available online at meetmera.org. They will not be sold at the trailheads. Visitors can pick up temporary permits at the trailhead, which must be filled out with the information provided upon purchasing a day-use pass online.

Permits will be required to be placed on the rearview mirror with the information facing outward.

Parking in any of the three lots without a permit will be punishable by a $100 fine per occurrence. Offenders will have the option to receive an annual pass when paying the citation, which will be payable online. Union County parks staff will enforce the citations.

“We tried to design this in a way where we don’t put extra tasks on the sheriff’s office,” Ford said at a previous meeting.

Since the permit program and enforcement will be run by the Union County Parks Department, Ford also came before the commissioners to ask them to approve a contract with T2 Systems. The company will provide the software and equipment needed to implement the parking permit program at the nonmotorized trailheads.

“This wraps in enforcement, as well as a platform to sell your passes, all into one,” Ford said.

Commissioners unanimously approved a three-year contract with T2 Systems. The first two years, which includes the initial setup expenses, will cost $13,608, according to Ford. This will be paid for with money set aside for this purpose from the county’s American Rescue Plan Act funding.

“The third-year fee of $3,516 will need to come from the MERA budget,” Ford said. “This should be paid by revenues generated from the parking program.”