As you all know, when Congress authorized the Recreation Access Tax as part of the Omnibus Appropriations Bill on December 8th, Fee-Demo was officially repealed. Fee-Demo was replaced by the RAT, a new law which some said would be fairer and less egregious in its implementation than the unpopular program it replaced. Unfortunately, they were wrong.
The USFS's RAT implementation guidelines were issued on April 25th and with its publication, much of the uncertainty regarding how that agency intends to interpret the new law is resolved. We now know that the USFS has no intention of making the recreation program either more fair or any less egregious. In fact, the USFS has no intention of following the law! What they intend to do is to charge the widest variety of fees for the widest variety of recreational activities by stretching the RAT far beyond what the law permits. They must not be permitted to do so!
Pasted below is an Action Alert prepared by our friends at the Western Slope No Fee Coalition. I have modified it to the extent that I've added web-links to documents that where not available on the internet when their alert was distributed yesterday morning and which I have since made available.
There's a lot of important information here. I hope you find it helpful.
Scott
----- begin forwarded alert------
Action Alert - USFS Plans Illegal Fees! May 5, 2005
[This alert was prepared by the Western Slope No Fee Coalition (WSNFC)]
At the end of this alert is a press release that went to nationwide
media on May 3, 2005. It is in response to the Forest Service's release
of Interim Implementation Guidelines for the RAT Act. We think you will
find it shocking. It is now available online at
www.wildwilderness.org/docs/reaguide.doc
The WSNFC worked hard last year with the House Resources Committee to
have over-broad authority removed from the RAT bill, and to add more
restrictions on where fees can be charged. The agencies, in turn,
pushed for unlimited fee authority with little public or congressional
oversight. The bill that was rushed through behind closed doors at the
end of the lame duck session pleases neither side.
The newly released guidelines reveal that the Forest Service plans to
ignore restrictions on fees in the new law and proceed as if they had
gotten everything they wanted. To achieve this, they have MADE UP two
fee categories that appear nowhere in the law and are using them to
charge fees at sites that do not meet the law's minimum criteria. In
other words, they are blatantly charging ILLEGAL FEES!
At the same time, the Forest Service has begun a program called
Recreation Site Facility Master Planning (RS-FMP). They will be
evaluating every site nationwide for "financial sustainability." SITES
THAT CANNOT GENERATE ENOUGH FEE REVENUE TO BE SELF-SUPPORTING WILL BE
CLOSED.The scale of closures appears to be vast, with campgrounds,
access points, visitor centers and trailheads reportedly on the block.
OUR PRECIOUS PUBLIC LANDS HAVE NEVER BEEN IN MORE DANGER FROM THOSE ENTRUSTED WITH MANAGING THEM!
It is time to take action. There are THREE things you can do:
ONE: Contact Congress and demand that all fees outside of developed
campgrounds be suspended and that the RAT be repealed. Here is a sample
letter:
"I am outraged that the Forest Service plans to continue all existing
fee sites and establish many new ones in total disregard of the
limitations contained in the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act.
This law was passed as a rider, without congressional debate or a
recorded vote, in the face of nationwide opposition by citizens and
elected officials. It is poorly written and contains contradictory and
ambiguous language that the Forest Service is interpreting over-broadly.
In addition, the Forest Service is inventing fee authority for
themselves that does not appear anywhere in the law, and planning to
close sites that are financially unprofitable.
I request that Congress direct the Forest Service and Bureau of Land
Management to suspend all fees outside of developed campgrounds until
oversight hearings can be held by Congress. The FLREA is substantive
legislation, including criminal penalties, that did not undergo a full
legislative process, and it should be repealed." (Please vary the
wording and add your own thoughts.)
HERE IS WHAT WE NEED YOU TO DO:
1) Contact House and Senate leadership list by phone and fax. Contact information below.
2) Contact the President by phone, fax, and e-mail. Contact information also listed below.
3) IMPORTANT: Write letters to the editors of your local and state newspapers.
4) Contact your state's Representatives. We have listed the Capitol
Switchboard. Just call and ask for your Congressman's office.
Here is who to contact:
Your Senators and U.S. Representative
Capitol Switchboard: For contacting your Congressperson
Phone only: 202-224-3121
Sen. Larry Craig, Chair, Public Lands Subcommittee
Phone: 202/224-2752
Fax: 202/228-1067
Sen. Conrad Burns, Chair, Interior Appropriations Subcommittee
Phone: 202/224-2644
Fax:202/228-8594
Sen. Craig Thomas, Chair, National Park Subcommittee
Phone: 202/224-6441
Fax: 202/224-1724
Rep. Jerry Lewis, Chair, Appropriations Committee
Phone: 202/225-5861
Fax: 202/225-6498
Rep. Richard Pombo, Chair, Resources Committee
Phone: 202/225-1947
Fax: 202/226-0861
Rep. Greg Walden, Chair, Forest and Forest Health Subcommittee
Phone: 202/225-6730
Fax: 202/225-5774
Rep. Devin Nunes, Chair, National Parks Subcommittee
Phone: 202/225-2523
Fax: 202/225-3404
Rep. Charles Taylor, Chair Interior Appropriations
Phone: 202/225-6401
Fax: 202/226-6422
Rep. Ralph Regula
Phone: 202/225-3876
Fax: 202/225-3059
TWO: Participate in our Fee Site Survey. We have launched an
on-the-ground review of thousands of FS and BLM fee sites nationwide to
identify those that do not comply with the requirements of the new law.
You can obtain instructions, survey forms and a list of FS sites from
us at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
(see also
http://www.aznofee.org/aznofee/home.php )
THREE: Ask your local and state elected officials to pass resolutions
calling for repeal of the RAT. Colorado and Montana have already done
this. The Oregon Senate has also, and their resolution is pending in
the Oregon House. Eight Colorado counties have weighed in as well.
Contact us for examples and advice at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
The national outrage over the way this law was passed, and now with how
the agencies plan to implement it, MUST be heard in Congress, and it
does have a huge effect!
Thank you for your support.
Robert Funkhouser, President
Begin Press Release
WESTERN SLOPE NO-FEE COALITION
P.O. Box 403, Norwood, CO 81423
-------
May 4, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information:
Robert Funkhouser, 802/235-2299,
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Kitty Benzar, 970/259-4616,
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
FOREST SERVICE GUIDELINES REVEAL PLANS FOR ILLEGAL FEE SITES
Unprofitable Recreation Sites Nationwide To Be Closed
The U.S. Forest Service has issued Interim Implementation Guidelines to
local forest managers instructing them on how to implement the Federal
Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA), better known as the
Recreational Access Tax (RAT). These guidelines purport to guide
managers in following congressional intent as they transition from the
previous Fee Demo program to the new law.
Instead, they do just the opposite. They instruct local managers on how
to bypass congressional constraints and illegally charge fees for
dispersed areas, general access, and recreational use of undeveloped
land. The guidelines are written so as to modify existing fee programs
as little as possible, while extending new fees to millions more acres
of public land. Fees will be charged for whole or nearly whole National
Forests in California and Arizona as well as vast tracks of forests in
Colorado, Washington, Oregon, New Hampshire, and other states. Fees
will be charged for trailheads, OHV routes, mountain biking trails,
equestrian trails, and wilderness areas. All of this is in clear
contradiction to congressional intent and to the letter of the law.
The Western Slope No-Fee Coalition has released an analysis of the
Forest Service guidelines. It charges that the Forest Service is
inventing two categories of fees that are not authorized in the law:
High Impact Area Fees and Recreation Permit Fees. These categories are
being used to bypass the restrictions in the law that forbid the agency
from charging entrance fees for National Forests or for "dispersed
areas with low or no investment." The restrictions were meant by
Congress to rein in the agencies from having broad, unlimited fee
authority.
At the same time, the Forest Service has undertaken a nationwide review
of all recreation sites under their management. Those that cannot
achieve "financial sustainability" will be slated for closure.
This program, Recreation Site Facility Master Planning (RS-FMP) calls
for Regional and Forest managers to identify all the sites in their
jurisdiction that do not meet standards for sustainability and mark
those less profitable for closure. And, in a concept borrowed straight
from Madison Avenue, each Forest must identify its marketing "niche"
and consider closing any sites that do not fit that niche. The process
is already underway and will be completed by 2007. The scale of
closures on National Forests appears to be vast with campgrounds,
access points, visitor centers and trailheads reportedly on the block.
The relationship of the RS-FMP to the fee program is clear. The agency
will be denying access to more and more of the National Forest system
outside of fee areas. Even fee areas will be closed if they are not
sufficiently profitable or don't fit the marketing niche. RS-FMP
documents state that "Recreation fee authority has created higher
visitor expectations," resulting in a ratcheting-up effect of higher
fees chasing higher expectations. By allowing a public agency to tax
the public directly, Congress has changed the incentive of forest
managers from land stewardship to revenue generation.
Congressional funding of recreation budget line items has not kept up
with inflation, but these operations and maintenance budgets have not
been heavily slashed either. The biggest obstacle to the maintenance of
Forest Service areas is the systematic de-funding of operations and
maintenance by the agency themselves. While appropriations from
Congress go up, generally 1% or 2 % annually, funding from the
Washington Office and the Regions to the Forest and District levels has
been dropping by double-digit percentages every year. Some Forests
report drops as high as 20% last year.
So where are the funds going? Indications are that money is being
pulled from recreation and maintenance budgets and used for weed
programs, relocating staff and for fire-fuel reduction. Some managers
claim that the cost of administration has risen. Whatever the reason,
the bottom line is that the Forest Service's priority is not the
public's use of their public land.
Closing recreation sites and trails will cause enormous harm to local
economies. Before limiting public use, an outside audit of all related
budget line items should be conducted to find out where the money has
gone. Past audits of the Forest Service by the Government
Accountability Office have revealed widespread financial mismanagement
that has never been corrected.
To read the agency's Implementation Guidelines
www.wildwilderness.org/docs/reaguide.doc
To read WSNFC's analysis of the guidelines
www.wildwilderness.org/docs/analysis.doc
Information about the RS-FMP process is available at
www.fs.fed.us/r3/measures/Prioritize/RS-FMP.htm.
USFS guidelines for off-loading facilities is available at
www.wildwilderness.org/docs/wcfplan.pdf
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