On December 18, 1998, The Deschutes National Forest announced their 1999 allocated recreation budget had been cut by $175,800. In fiscal year 1998, the Deschutes National Forest collected $175,400 in cash receipts from the Demonstration Recreation Fee Program. A Coincidence? Hardly.
The introduction of the Trail park Pass in Central Oregon has resulted in a budget reduction in federal funding that precisely equals the revenues generated by user fees. In fiscal year 1998, allotted funding was also cut by precisely the amount collected through fee-demo. This is not unique to Central Oregon, this is occurring nation-wide.
Locally, the impacts of this most recent budget cut will be far worse than the attached Bulletin article suggests. Gross funding levels were reduced by 27 percent. However, because fixed operating expenses and employee costs will be no lower in 1999 than in 1998, the allocated funding available for "on-the-ground" projects will be reduced by 56%.
The attached article wrongly suggests that additional volunteer service will compensate for the reduction in provided services. Volunteers who have traditionally maintained local trails have become disillusioned with the fee-demo program. They are already rebelling against public amenities being converted into commercialized "pay-to-play" products. These volunteers have seen the fruits of their labors turned over to private concessionaires. Simply stated, the Forest Service is kidding itself if it believes volunteers will continue to donate their labors so that a private industry can charge them to use these public facilities.
Wild Wilderness has repeated stated that the fee-demo program is not about raising money with which to perform necessary trail maintenance. We say fee-demo is nothing but the beginning of an industry orchestrated effort to "commercialize, privatize and motorize" public lands.
Please read the following article and see if you agree with the Forest Service "spin" !
By Michele LaBounty
The Deschutes National Forest's largest and most popular ranger district is juggling a 27 percent cut in its recreation budget that's expected to force it to rely more on volunteers.
Some worry that the cuts will leave the Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District, with its mountain lakes, wilderness, lava caves and desert, without adequate resources to maintain recreation spots and protect recreationists.
Keith Clinton, the district's recreation team leader, worries continuing budget cuts could spiral into a slow erosion of resources in the district covering 60 percent of the 1.6 million-acre national forest.
Bend-Fort Rock is a playground for 7 million, or 60 percent, of the 11.7 million visitors to the Deschutes National Forest last year The forest translates those 113 million visitors into about 3.3 million "recreation visitor days," one of which equals one person staying for 24 hours.
No jobs are expected to be lost because of the $175,800 slice into the district recreation pot.
More trash and fewer rangers and information and education programs are Clinton's ultimate concerns. Even so, he offers a dose of practicality: "It's like anyplace "When times are lean, you have to try and get as creative as you can be," Clinton said.
He and recreation specialists from the Sisters and Crescent ranger districts are sorting out how less money will change the outdoor experience for campers, hikers, anglers, snowmobilers and skiers.
Forest wide, the recreation, wilderness and trails budget is down about 5 percent to $1.7 million, said acting Deputy Forest Supervisor Phil Cruz. The budget for all forest programs was reduced about 8 percent to $31.5 million, which includes funding for the Redmond Air Center and other regional services.
Despite the cuts, the Deschutes still is one of the highest-funded national forests in the country, forest Supervisor Sally Collins said last month when the budget was released.
Cruz presents a positive spin on the recreation budget: "In my heart, I don't think they (the public) will see a real big difference. Facilities will be clean and safe. Delivery may be different."
Cruz said living with less is why the national forest contracts with concessionaires for campground and recreation services. The Deschutes recently awarded new permits to Recreation Re-source Management to operate Crescent Ranger District services; High Lakes Contractors for Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District services; and Hoodoo Recreation Services for Sisters Ranger District services.
"There's always new ways of doing things," Cruz said. "It's really pushing ourselves to be creative and work with partners."
Recreation's pie includes campgrounds, boating and day-use sites, recreation areas along rivers and around reservoirs, rest room maintenance, heritage and historic sites and monitoring caves.
About 500 volunteers give their time year-round, and some 200 help groom and patrol winter trails.
Revenues from trailpark fees collected for trailhead parking permits and to enter Newberry National Volcanic Monument may not be used to maintain winter trails, said Chris Sabo, winter trails coordinator for the forest. The funds, about $175,000 last year, only can go to summer trails.
Sabo is troubled about safety on more than 250 miles of snowmobile trails and about 110 miles of Nordic skiing trails if enough people aren't available to dig snow from around trail signs.
Two months into the fiscal year, the snowmobile maintenance budget already is exhausted, he said.
FOREST RECREATION BUDGET CUT
POPULAR SPOTS WILL DEPEND MORE ON VOLUNTEERS
The Bulletin (December 18, 1998)
Scott Silver, Executive Director,
Wild Wilderness
248 NW Wilmington Avenue, Bend OR 97701
Phone (541) 385-5261 E-mail: ssilver@wildwilderness.org