Fort Lewis College will no longer charge additional membership fees for Outdoor Pursuits and intramural sports this year because of changes to program funding. Negotiations are still in the works between for the purchase of rafting company’s equipment and river permits for enhanced academic programs, said assistant director of Recreational Services Brett Davis.  

Fee Changes with OP and Intramurals

As a student at FLC, outdoor equipment such as mountain bikes, tents, sleeping bags, inflatable rafts, dry bags, and paddleboards can be rented out from OP at no extra cost as funding is solely from student fees, said Davis.

Last year Associated Students of Fort Lewis College unanimously voted for student fee increases by $1.75 per credit hour to eliminate membership fees for OP and intramurals, said Davis.

With fee changes, OP’s hopes are that students who wouldn’t normally have extra income to rent equipment use their services, said Davis.

“Every student pays for it, every student should have access to it,” Davis said.

With the waiver of additional fees, Davis is expecting to have a higher membership count and increase of gear rentals, he said.

Plans are in the works for expanding the internal program for purchase of new equipment, as well extra storage and new programs, he said.

“We still need to purchase more Zercon units before we can buy the new equipment we need,” Davis said. “We only have so much storage for the equipment we have now, let alone planned purchases for the future”

OP is restoring its big trip programs, such as a ski trip to Mount Baker and climbing Mount Rainier in Washington state, as well as future trips to Mt. Bona in Alaska and a ski trip in Japan, said Davis.

“To give comparative info, the Baker trip is eight days round trip with travel to and from Durango, food, lodging, and the ski guiding and everything is $500,” said coordinator of permitting and programing for Outdoor Pursuits Josh Kling.  

Rafting Company Purchas

Funding for the purchase of a rafting company in New Mexico was acquired this summer through a crowdfunding campaign, led by the FLC Foundation. The goal was to get permits for the San Juan, Chama and Salt rivers, said Davis.

“The design of the raft company purchase was to create a river program that is comprehensive for academics, co-curricular and alumni,” he said.

A program guide that has more information on upcoming trips can be found on the OP page of FLC's website.

The information meeting for bigger trips will be held at 7 p.m. on Oct. 18 in the OP office at the Student Life Center at 7 p.m.

OP is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m, Mondays through Friday, he said.