A recreation fee payment tube was dislodged in July 2024 near the Main Eagle Trailhead on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.

Forest Service law enforcement is investigating damage to metal tubes where visitors pay fees at three trailheads and campgrounds on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.

The damage, and the loss of an unknown amount of money left in the tubes, was discovered July 22, said Ben Walker, recreation specialist for the La Grande Ranger District.

Fees had been collected from the tubes most recently about a week earlier, Walker said, so the amount of money lost is likely modest.

He said the estimated cost to repair or replace the tubes, at $4,000 to $5,000, is significantly more than the money stolen.

A Forest Service employee found the damaged tubes while making a regular visit to the sites, all in the southern Wallowa Mountains, Walker said.

• North Fork Catherine Creek Trailhead, southeast of Union.

• West Eagle Trailhead and Campground, northeast of Medical Springs.

• Main Eagle Trailhead, Boulder Park horse camp, northeast of Medical Springs.

Walker said some tubes were pulled out of the ground, while at others the locked metal plate that protects the contents had been removed.

Walker said that although Forest Service workers in the past have found evidence that people tried to pull fee envelopes from tubes, the July incidents are the first in recent years that involved major damage to the tubes. One of the six was missing.

There are no remote cameras at any of the sites.

Anyone with information can call their local ranger district. The La Grande Ranger District office number is 541-962-8500.