Since April 2002, the following "Ten Principles" have been making the rounds within the US Forest Service in anticipation of new recreation fee demonstration legislation to be introduced in the House by Rep. Scott McInnis later in the year.

Principles for Recreation Fees

  1. The new fee program must be designed for visitor convenience, namely,
    1. Seamless across agencies.
    2. Convenient payment options (e.g., credit cards, e-gov, off-site sales).
    3. Single fee for basic recreation facilities/services.
  2. Fees are part of a larger financial plan for recreation that includes appropriated funding, interagency cooperation, partnerships with the private sector, commercial operations, and leveraged funding.
  3. Fees will be levied only where some level of developed infrastructure or recreation service is readily apparent, or in defined concentrated use areas where recreation use results in resource damage.
  4. Revenues are retained for use at the site where collected and provide benefits visible to and desired by visitors of the National Forest where the fee is collected.
  5. Fee collection and revenue redistribution methods will use appropriate new technologies, such as e-gov and credit/smart card transactions.
  6. Program implementation will be limited by consistent, predictable criteria, rather than through a set number of sites.
  7. Business plans assist in the decision-making process on where it is appropriate to charge fees. Plans include factors such as level and type of development, cost of collection, use, compliance, convenience, partnerships, stakeholder input, impacts to underserved communities and local businesses, and private sector alternatives.
  8. National Forests will involve the communities of place and interest in decisions about where the fee money is invested.
  9. Fees will not be used to control amount of visitor use; i.e., fees will not be a substitute for direct visitor use/impact management methods, such as permits, reservation systems, or other site-specific use limitations.
  10. We will be accountable for monitoring fiscal, efficiency, policy, revenue distribution, and implementation of the fee program.

 

This document was prepared by Wild Wilderness. To learn more about ongoing industry-backed congressional efforts to motorize, commercialize, and privatize America's public lands, contact:

Scott Silver, Executive Director,
Wild Wilderness
248 NW Wilmington Avenue,  Bend  OR 97701
Phone (541) 385-5261    E-mail: ssilver@wildwilderness.org