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The Public doesn't want them. Forest Service officials say they "violate agency policies" and yet a few special interest groups and their agency partners insist on bringing outdoor advertisements to the National Forests.
What do you think --- do you want to see advertising in your the forests and on your public mountains?? If not, perhaps you'd do well to contact your Congressman directly on this matter because the USFS does not much care what the public wants. In the eyes of the USFS if you are not a "partner" or a "stakeholder", then you must be a "customer" --- or else you're nothing at all.
A USFS ruling has temporarily banned these ads but should this decision be reversed, it will be extremely difficult to prevent commercial advertising from spreading uncontrollably like the noxious weed it is. Best we nip this one in the bud.
Scott
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September 28, 2003
Forest Service bans ads on chairlifts
Divided agency could reverse ruling
By Bob Berwyn - Special to The Denver Post
Display ads will not be allowed as part of a proposal to attach ski
area trail maps to chairlift safety bars, the U.S. Forest Service has
decided.
The Forest Service issued the temporary ruling on public lands advertising policy that affects ski resorts around the country.
The chairlift ads, displayed in conjunction with the safety bar trail
maps, were included as part of a test program at Aspen Skiing Co.'s
four resorts last season.
Some Forest Service officials publicly criticized the decision to
permit the program, charging that it violated agency policies on
outdoor advertising. Other ski areas, including Telluride and Vail,
have expressed an interest in similar programs.
Aspen's chairlift trail maps, encased in plastic panels, were flanked
by colorful depictions of various commercial goods and services,
including beverages and massage businesses. Some of the panels
displayed safety and environmental messages.
"The ads are gone," said Ed Ryberg, regional winter administrator for the Forest Service.
But the agency will permit the maps with associated sponsorship
messages of a limited size, including a company logo. Safety and
environmental messages, and information about on-mountain services such
as ski school and restaurants, also are permitted.
The ruling will stand for one year, while agency experts discuss
whether any more far-reaching changes should be made relating to
advertising. Ryberg said the fact that there is a significant amount of
money at issue could provide a trigger for a rule-making process that
would include public input.
Colorado-based Forest Service officials denied the program last year,
saying it was only the latest in a long line of similar proposals. But
Aspen businessman Matt Jay, a proponent of the trail map program,
lobbied top-level Forest Service officials in Washington, D.C., and
ultimately gained approval for the one-year pilot project.
Jay said he did not have enough information on the Forest Service ruling to make a comment.
Aspen Skiing Co. officials also declined comment, saying they needed more time to evaluate the agency's decision.
The resort and Forest Service subsequently conducted a survey to
measure public reaction and garnered favorable feedback on the trail
maps. At the same time, the survey found that guests did not want the
agency to lift its long- standing ban on outdoor advertising. Some of
the map and ad panels were vandalized or defaced last year, Ryberg said.
White River National Forest supervisor Martha Ketelle outlined
conditions for continuing the so- called MapLinks program at Aspen and
other ski resorts permitted to operate on the White River forest in a
Sept. 18 letter.
"It is the agency's position that it is appropriate to allow
recognition of partners for their support in providing services and
facilities to the public. ... This recognition should be subtle and in
the form of a written acknowledgment of the contribution, which may
include logos," Ketelle wrote.
The Forest Service is still split internally on the question.
Jim Stark, winter sports administrator at the Aspen Ranger District,
said the maps and associated ads provide a service to the public. But
other officials say it marks the first step in diluting a long-standing
policy that has prevented a proliferation of commercial displays on
public lands. Allowing the chairlift ads will make it more difficult to
deny similar requests, critics said.
Other groups that have expressed an interest in acknowledging help from
private companies include the Continental Divide Trail Alliance and the
Colorado Fourteeners Initiative, Ryberg said.
To learn more:
http://www.coloradoskiwriter.com/Columns/lapmaps2-17-03.htm
http://www.lapmap.com/
http://www.skiliftmedia.com/skiliftmedia/index.htm
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