| WESTERN SLOPE NO-FEE COALITION |
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THE FEE-FREE PRESS
DEAR PUBLIC LANDS SUPPORTER
The deadlines for public comment on proposed trail fees on two National Forests in Oregon and one in Illinois are rapidly approaching.
The Deschutes and Willamette Forests in Oregon want to charge for all overnight access plus nearly 25% of day use trails at three designated Wilderness areas in the Cascades Range by claiming that hiking is a "specialized recreation use."
The Shawnee Forest in Illinois wants to charge parking fees for three trailheads.
These fees would be illegal under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act and would exclude the public from accessing and enjoying their public lands.
Please send in your comments on both proposals right away!
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HIKING IN A WILDERNESS AREA IS NOT A SPECIALIZED RECREATIONAL USE!
Three Wilderness Areas in Oregon Will Be Fee-Only Access If This Proposal Is Implemented
The Mt Jefferson, Mt Washington, and Three Sisters Wilderness Areas already plan to require limited-access permits starting next year to prevent overcrowding and resource damage.
Now the Deschutes and Willamette National Forests want to take the next step and start charging money for those permits.
They claim authority for such fees under a clause in the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA) that allows a fee for "specialized recreation uses" such as group activities, recreation events, and motorized recreational vehicles.
Congress never meant that to apply to private individuals who are hiking, walking, horseback riding and camping in a completely undeveloped part of a National Forest. Such fees would set a horrible national precedent for other Wildernesses.
The deadline for comments is
November 25 - send yours now before it's too late!
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
If you live nearby, attend the upcoming Open House:
Thursday, November 21
6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Hilyard Community Center, 2580 Hilyard St., Eugene, Oregon
Regardless of where you live, send in your comment by email to:
Here is some suggested language:
* Describe your outdoor activities (e.g., "I backpack, climb, hike, fish, horseback ride, etc. on federal lands at least xxx times per year").
* Describe: 1) how the fees such as this make it harder for you to access public lands; and 2) will deter you from engaging in your normal activities in these areas.
* This fee proposal is unprecedented. Willamette National Forest and Deschutes National Forest are the first national forests in the U.S. to try to implement a fee system across three wilderness areas that will charge all overnight users and 19 trailhead day users across over 450,000 acres.
* The amount of the fee is exorbitant. For example, for an 8-person group that seeks to complete a 10-day backpacking trip in the area, the fee will jump from its current amount of $0 to $406 ($5/person/day + $6 reservation fee).
* The proposed fee violates FLREA, which prohibits charging for general access, hiking, horseback riding, dispersed camping, and other uses.
* Traveling on foot through a Wilderness Area is not a "specialized recreation use" within the meaning of the FLREA. The plain language of the statute limits permit fees specifically to uses such as group activities, recreation events, and motorized recreational vehicle use. Activities such as hiking, walking, horseback riding, and dispersed camping are wholly outside the scope of the specialized activities Congress intended to cover.
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SHAWNEE NATIONAL FOREST JUST HASN'T GOTTEN THE MESSAGE
After Being Shot Down By Massive Public Opposition To Trail Fees In 2008, They Are Trying Again
Eleven years ago the Shawnee Forest in southern Illinois proposed charging fees for parking at three trailheads: Garden of the Gods, Bell Smith Springs, and Little Grand Canyon. They got a huge outpouring of public opposition. To his credit the Forest Supervisor at the time backed down, acknowledging:
Fast forward to now, several Forest Supervisors and untold staff changes later, and the Forest must have lost all institutional memory, because the parking fees for those same trailheads are back on the table. And this time they have been ruled not only unpopular but illegal!
The fees in the proposal would be Standard Amenity Fees. The Forest claims they can charge SAFs anyplace where six amenities enumerated in
FLREA are present, regardless of whether a visitor uses them or not.
But several federal courts have found otherwise. For example, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said in 2012:
". . .the [FL]REA clearly contemplates that individuals can go to a place offering facilities and services without using the facilities and services and without paying a fee. For example, subsection (d)(1)(D) prohibits fees 'for persons who are driving through, walking through, boating through, horseback riding through, or hiking through . . . without using the facilities and services.' . . The statute thus distinguishes between merely recreating in an area and actually using an area's amenities."
The deadline for public comments is December 6. Remind the Shawnee that trail fees are unpopular and also illegal.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
If you live nearby, attend the upcoming Open House:
November 25, 2019
5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Rose Clare Community Room
Rose Clare Craft and Antique Mall, 10 Main Street, Rosiclare, Illinois
Regardless of where you live, send your comment by email to:
Here is some suggested language:
* Describe your outdoor activities, what you do (e.g., "I backpack, climb, hike, fish, horseback ride, etc. on federal lands at least xxx times per year"). If you use trails on the Shawnee mention them specifically.
* When I engage in these activities I do not use any amenities. I merely park my vehicle and follow a trail into undeveloped federal land.
* Describe: 1) how the fees such as this make it harder for you to access public lands; and 2) will deter you from engaging in your normal activities in these areas.
* The proposed fee violates FLREA, which prohibits charges for parking, general access, hiking, horseback riding, dispersed camping, and other uses.
* Multiple federal courts have found that the Forest Service may not charge a fee to people like me who just walk, hike, or horseback ride on a trail, regardless of what amenities are present at the trailhead.
* I oppose any fee solely for parking at the trailheads for Garden of the Gods, Bell Smith Springs, or Little Grand Canyon.
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The Western Slope No-Fee Coalition is a broad-based organization consisting of diverse interests including hiking, biking, boating, equestrian and motorized enthusiasts, community groups, local and state elected officials, conservatives and liberals, Republicans and Democrats, and just plain citizens.
Our goals are:
- To eliminate recreation fees for general access to public lands managed by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management
- To eliminate backcountry fees and interpretive program fees in National Parks
- To require more accountability within the land management agencies
- To encourage Congress to adequately fund our public lands
Thank you for your support!
Sincerely,
Kitty Benzar
Western Slope No Fee Coalition |
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