SALEM – Oregon Parks and Recreation Department is phasing out its campground Discovery Season discount program and implementing targeted deals, starting in 2015.

The seasonal discounts continue in effect through April 30, reducing tent and RV campsite costs by $4 per night.

The annual discount was created nearly 20 years ago, and has been offered at all state park campgrounds in Oregon.

“Discovery Season has done its job,” said Chris Havel, the department’s associate director. “It was great way to introduce yurts to Oregonians and to encourage fall and winter camping, but we now need to move away from a ‘one size fits all’ discount.”

Havel cited a continuing decline in Lottery revenue as part of the reason for the move. Nearly all of OPRD’s funding comes from user fees, a portion of RV licensing revenue, and 7.5 percent of net Lottery proceeds.

Before discounts, Oregon state park campsites cost $17-19 a night for tents, and $22-26 for RVs. Together with parking revenue, visitors contribute $21 million of the $48 million a year it takes to operate state parks.

The agency estimates that a year-round rate structure with targeted discounts could translate into an additional $400,000-500,000 a year.

Havel said the targeted discounts, which begin in 2015, make more sense.

“It makes better business sense to offer incentives that attract campers to sites that would normally sit empty, instead of discounting sites that would fill anyway.”

Havel said improvements in the reservation system will allow the agency to better anticipate where last-minute vacancies will be, and set special rates for those sites.

Effective Jan. 1, campers will be able to reserve sites from nine months to just one day before their trip. Currently, that reservation “window” is two days, not one. “It’s a small change, but it means you can call on a Thursday and book your entire weekend stay.”

OPRD contracts with Reserve America, a centralized online reservation service that handles 49 public and private park systems across the U.S. Customers can also reserve campsites by calling OPRD’s call center in Portland at 1-800-452-5687 during regular business hours.