OJAI : Manager Sought for Campground

The U.S. Forest Service is looking for a company or individual to manage its 72-unit campground in Wheeler Gorge next year.

The service will accept bids at its Ojai office until 2 p.m. Dec. 14 and expects the operator to begin work in early January, officials said.

California Land Management, a Palo Alto-based company, has been running the campground for more than two years, but its contract expires at the end of the year, said Al Hess, the Ojai district’s recreation officer.

The government, which is not anticipating more than a few bids, will select an operator based, in part, on the percentage of fee receipts the concessionaire can return to the government, said Ed Gornowski, assistant recreation officer for Los Padres National Forest.

It costs $8 per person per day to stay at the campground.

A person or company with experience in campground management and people skills is preferred.

An operator’s maintenance responsibilities include providing a trailer or house for the caretaker and keeping toilets and picnic areas clean.

“It’s--I’d say--rustic living,” Gornowski said.

The 15-acre Wheeler Gorge is the second-largest campground in the Los Padres National Forest and one of only about seven in the northern half of Ventura County, Gornowski said.