Corps of Engineers changing host policy

[agesilaus]

We've stayed in 4 COE cg in the last month or so. One had camp ground hosts who did not go thru the bid process and were not paid other than the FHU site. That was Hardridge Creek in AL. In The Narrows in KY, they did go thru the bid process and were paid, and at Wax in KY they were bid workers but said others COE sites were all volunteer?
They thought COE was trying to do away with the bid process all together.

That bid has inhibited me because how do you know how much to bid?

Anyway something is going on, are they not getting folks to bid or are they dumping that process to save money?

[Lwiddis]

Going all “unpaid” will not pay dividends. It will ultimately cost much, much more IMO.

[chindog]

I don't know the accuracy of this, but I've been told by people who camp host at some of COE parks where we've stayed, that the policies on paying camp hosts is up to the Ranger in charge of the lake or region where the park is located. A few miles down the road at a different lake or region, the policies can be entirely different.

[wanderingaimles]

We have a couple of parks here on Kerr Reservoir that have paid, and others that are unpaid. The paid actually work here year round by rotating to the main campground at the dam in the winter. I believe from talking to them it has become a "It's who you know" scenario. in that,
The COE is trying to go all unpaid, but have some existing folks they will pay to keep, due to liking them, their work ethic, and reliability.
Understandable really, same folks have been doing this at the same parks 8-10 years. They occasionally rotate them to different summer parks if there are problems with the unpaid ones that had been there. They also seem to use the two paid couples as trainers.