In the U.S. Army, they say “Rangers lead the way.” In the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, it’s often park rangers leading the way at our nation’s lake projects. At Rathbun Lake, located in southern Iowa, one park ranger is leading the way by being a proponent of the cashless fee system at the lake’s campgrounds and boat ramps.
Since 2020, Ryan Vogt, natural resource specialist and park ranger at Rathbun Lake, has led the way in the Kansas City District for adopting a cashless fee system at both the lake project’s campgrounds and boat ramps. While many lake projects in the district’s area of responsibility have automated fee machines from which recreators can purchase recreation passes, Rathbun Lake is one of the first to have a cashless reservation system at its over 400 campsites.
“We don’t collect any cash [at our campsites]. At our campgrounds, all our reservations are online,” said Jordon Griffin, natural resource manager at Rathbun Lake. “Ryan [Vogt] has been a big proponent and has run that program really well. I think we set the bar there.”
According to Griffin, Vogt was responsible for acquiring several tablets, which park attendants use to check reservations at campgrounds. Visitors can make a campsite reservation and pay online, which helps streamline the reservation and check-in process. It also helps eliminate double-booking a campsite or missing a reservation. But Vogt didn’t stop at a cashless fee system for the lake’s campgrounds.
Vogt, who started with USACE at Rathbun Lake in 2019, did a brief stint with the St. Louis District in the fall of 2021. During his time at the St. Louis District, he saw firsthand the benefits of using automated fee machines to issue recreation passes. When he returned to Rathbun Lake, Vogt pitched the idea of replacing the old cash vaults with the automated fee machines. In the spring of 2022, five automated fee machines were installed at the lake.
Located at the lake project’s four boat ramps and at the visitor center, recreators can purchase a boat launch pass, a USACE annual pass or an America the Beautiful pass, simply by swiping their credit or debit card. Not only do the automated fee machines save Vogt and other park rangers time because they don’t have to count cash, but the machines are also more accurate and rarely require refunds to be issued.
“We don’t have to mess with cash or checks or as many remittances,” said Vogt. “[The automated fee machines] are a timesaver, for sure.”
Vogt estimates he can collect payment from the five automated fee machines in about an hour during peak visitation. Prior to installing the machines, one or more park rangers could spend an entire day counting cash and taking it to the bank. Eliminating the need to count cash and reconcile fee discrepancies allows Vogt and other park rangers to do what they do best: assist visitors.
“[Going cashless] has allowed us rangers to be more available to the public,” said Vogt. “With us patrolling the ramps and making sure everyone is doing things safely, I think it’s an overall better experience for everyone.”
According to both Griffin and Vogt, the Rathbun Lake community has embraced going cashless and there have been very few technical issues with both the online campsite reservation system and the automated fee machines. They see Rathbun Lake as leading the way for national parks across the country to adopt cashless fee systems.
“Technology is always the way of the future,” said Vogt. “I believe [our cashless fee system] is a solution to providing top level customer satisfaction and visitor assistance not only for our project here at Rathbun Lake, but I’d say it’s going to promote recreation and visitation across the nation.”