Fee-Demo Update 7/20/03
WESTERN SLOPE NO-FEE COALITION
P.O. Box 403 Norwood CO. 81423
July 20, 2003
News From The Front
Dear Member or Supporter:
There is much transpiring in Washington concerning Fee Demo. It has
been sometime since our last update and for that I apologize. The Fee
Demo Program is very much at a crossroads at this time. There is much
we can do to influence the outcome of this debate and help determine
the public’s future in regards to public lands.
There is an incredible amount of pressure in Washington to make the
program permanent. There are also a considerable number of
Congressmen and Senators who oppose the program. Your letters, faxes,
and phone calls HAVE made a difference. Although the Western Slope
No-Fee Coalition has gained a voice in DC, it is the public’s input
that has made, and is making, the difference.
Update Topics:
House Votes to Extend Fee Demo By Two Years
DeFazio-Bradley Amendment To Kill Extension Fails By Only 30 Votes
McInnis-Pombo To Introduce “Fixed” Permanent Fee Demo Bill
Senate Committee To Hold Hearings On “Parks Only” Fee Demo Bill
The Interior Appropriations bill before the House floor on Thursday
July 17 contained a provision from the Interior Appropriations
Subcommittee (chair, Rep. Charles Taylor, R-NC) to extend Fee Demo in
all four land management agencies by two years. This is the same
subcommittee that first introduced Fee Demo and has now extended it
five times through the appropriations process in the House.
Rep. DeFazio (D-OR) and Rep. Jeb Bradley (R-NH) co-sponsored an
amendment to the bill that would have extended Fee Demo by two years
in the National Parks only. This amendment would have killed the
extension in the Forest Service, BLM and Fish and Wildlife Service if
successful. The amendment sparked an excellent floor debate on the
deficiencies of the program. Speakers for the amendment included
representative DeFazio, Rep. Bradley, Rep. Lois caps (D-CA) and Rep.
Greg Walden (R-OR).
Speakers against the amendment included Representative Charles Taylor
(R-NC), the Chair of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, Rep.
Norm Dicks (D-WA) the Minority Chair of the same subcommittee and
Richard Pombo (R-CA), the Chair of the House Resources Committee.
Although the amendment failed by vote of 184 to 241 we feel that this
is an excellent showing for opponents of Fee Demo. We are less than
30 votes short of a House majority to end the program. It is
important to bear in mind that the 184 votes supporting the amendment
were against the strong recommendations of three powerful
Committee/Subcommittee Chairman. This strong showing will have
influence when the program is taken up in the Resources Committee
later this month or in September.
Although the Senate has not passed any of its appropriations bills
yet, the Senate’s Interior Appropriations bill DOES NOT include any
Fee Demo extension. We are hopeful that the Senate Appropriators will
kill the two-year House extension of Fee Demo when the House and
Senate negotiate their differences in a Conference Committee.
During the floor debate on the DeFazio/Bradley amendment
Representative Pombo, Chair of the House Resource Committee made it
very clear, as did written testimony by Rep. McInnis (Chair of the
Forest and Forest Health Subcommittee) that they intend to introduce
legislation in the House Resource Committee to authorize (make
permanent) the Fee Demo program. Representative Pombo and
Representative McInnis both stated that the program could be “fixed”
and that both implementation problems and financial/accountability
issues could be resolved. We expect this legislation to be introduced
sometime later this month or early in September.
It is difficult to oppose legislation that we have not seen. On the
other hand, the WSNFC`s position is that the program cannot be fixed.
If the agencies were mandated to stop charging fees for unimproved
areas, backcountry use and roads etc., the program would be less
financially worthwhile than it already is. The Forest Service spends
50 percent of Fee Demo gross on administration costs, cost of
collection and enforcement. Accountability of Fee Demo funds is
another difficult issue to tackle. Fee Demo is not fixable. Allowing
the land management agencies to appropriate their own funds, without
congressional oversight or public support will never be acceptable.
Although we are not actively opposing this legislation yet, because we
have not seen it, we urge our members and supporters to contact Rep.
McInnis`s offices, again, to let him know how you feel. At this point
it is obvious that no amount of constituent input can dissuade Rep.
McInnis from trying to make this program permanent. However, it is
fairly clear that the Congressman would like to run for higher office,
possibly Governor. He should know that there is a political price for
continuing to be a leader of Fee Demo permanence in Congress.
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will be hearing
testimony on a bill introduced by Sen. Craig Thomas (R-WY) that would
make the Fee Demo program permanent in the National Parks ONLY. It is
Sen. Thomas’s intention to let the program expire in the Forest
Service, BLM, and Fish and Wildlife Service. The hearing will be held
on July 29th 2003 in front of the National Parks Subcommittee, which
Sen. Thomas chairs.
I have been asked to testify on behalf of the Western Slope No Fee
Coalition. While the WSNFC has strong concerns about the overlapping
and multi-layering of fees within the National Parks under the
program, we’re not necessarily opposed to entrance fees to the Parks.
The Parks have a history of charging entrance fees, there is
infrastructure that supports them and a level of service that the
public expects when visiting the National Parks.
What we are opposed to is the creation of new fee authority for the
other three land management agencies. It is this opposition, mainly,
that we will be testifying about. Sen. Thomas has taken are pragmatic
stand in regards to the program. We applaud him for this.
The WSNFC thanks you for your support in keeping public lands in
public hands. Having just returned from a tenth trip to DC, the
WSNFC remains fully engaged in the debate in Washington. We continue
to work closely with other No-Fee organizations, user groups of all
kinds, local governments and individuals to maximize our influence
with those Senators and Congressmen who will be making these tough
decisions involving the public’s ownership of these lands.
We will need your support and letter writing efforts in the weeks
ahead. Contacting elected officials in Washington is the best weapon
we have in this endeavor.
Sincerely,
Robert Funkhouser, President
Western Slope No-Fee Coalition
P.O. Box 403
Norwood, CO 81423
970-259-4616
Congressman McInnis
202-225-4761 Phone-DC
970-245-7107 Phone-Grand Junction
202-226-0622 Fax-DC
This document was prepared by Western Slope No-Fee Coalition
Scott Silver, Executive Director,
Wild Wilderness
248 NW Wilmington Avenue, Bend OR 97701
Phone (541) 385-5261 E-mail: ssilver@wildwilderness.org