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Today the US Forest Service and Department of Interior jointly announced the introduction of the "America the Beautiful - National Parks and Federal Recreation Lands Pass." (see appended). With this new pass comes the end of an era of almost universal free-access to public lands. It also shatters the illusion that the recreation fees introduced since 1996 are "user fees".
Ten years ago, the concept of "recreation user-fees" was foisted upon this nation. The vision was that the federal government would gradually cease to offer opportunities to recreate on America's public lands as if citizens had any kind of right to enjoy those opportunities. The idea was that outdoor recreation would be packaged, marketed and sold to paying customers by land managers and their private-partners. Access to public recreation sites would become a privilege for which the public would be required to pay.
Yet when the user-fee concept was first rolled out, the American pubic was told that the fee they paid would be used to fund the service they consumed. Today, with the issuance of the interagency America the Beautiful Pass, we have moved beyond that concept. From this day forth, when you purchase an "America the Beautiful" at the new www.recreation.gov web-portal, the $80 you pay will be divided amongst 5 federal agencies operating in 50 states.
What do you call that - a user-fee, or a tax???? And let me just add this. It is a quote from the US Forest Service they used in the late 90s until they realized that their words were making their new $5 per day user fee program look ridiculous.
"A person with an annual income of $40,000 pays less than $.03 per year in taxes to recreate on Forest Service lands, nationwide."
By the way, you are still paying that same 3 cents in income taxes, though now it doesn't look like a lot of money compared to the cost of an America the Beautiful Pass.
Scott
PS... stay tuned. I will be having a lot to say about this new pass in the next few days.
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NEWS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 5, 2006
CONTACT:
Joan Moody (Interior) (202) 208-6416
Jennifer Plyler (Forest Service) (202) 205-0914
New Interagency Pass Program Will Help Public
Enjoy Enhanced Recreation Sites on Public Lands
WASHINGTON-- Deputy Secretary of the Interior Lynn Scarlett and Under
Secretary of Agriculture Mark Rey today announced a new interagency
recreation pass that will benefit visitors to national public lands.
The new pass, authorized by the Congress in 2004, combines the benefits
of existing recreation passes from five federal agencies into one
comprehensive pass, the "America the Beautiful - National Parks and
Federal Recreational Lands Pass."
The new pass covers recreation opportunities on public lands managed by
four Department of the Interior agencies - the National Park Service,
Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and the Bureau of
Reclamation, and by the Department of Agriculture's U.S. Forest Service.
Access to most public lands remains free. The pass applies to those
locations that currently have entrance or standard amenity fees.
The new program replaces the Golden Eagle, Golden Age, and the Golden
Access Passports as well as the National Parks Pass. Existing passes
will remain valid until expired, lost or stolen.
Sales of the new pass will begin in January 2007 and will be available
at federal recreation sites that charge entrance and standard amenity
fees, through government internet sites, and through select third-party
vendors.
"Our federal lands boast scenic vistas, breathtaking landscapes, and
unique historic and cultural sites. This new interagency pass offers a
cost-effective and easy option for those who plan to visit multiple
federal recreation sites," said Deputy Secretary Scarlett. "The family
vacation to these destinations is an American tradition. Visitors can
now travel from a site managed by the Department of the Interior to a
site managed by the Department of Agriculture without getting a
different pass.
"A sightseer in Utah, for instance, can view the majestic rock
formations of Bryce and Zion National Parks and then explore Flaming
Gorge National Recreation Area on the Ashley National Forest using only
one pass."
"The interagency pass is a great New Year's gift both to the public
lands and to their visitors," said Mark Rey, Under Secretary of
Agriculture for Natural Resources and the Environment, who oversees the
Forest Service. "Annual interagency pass revenue will benefit public
lands by providing funds for maintenance, new visitor services, and
programs."
The officials noted that 100 percent of the revenue derived from passes
sold at federal recreation sites will directly benefit the selling
agency and no less than 80 percent of the revenue will remain at the
site where the pass was sold.
The new pass program was created by the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, which Congress authorized in December 2004.
The four different passes in the new interagency program are:
1) a new annual interagency pass costing $80--For visitors to multiple
federal sites, the pass offers unlimited coverage of entrance and
standard amenity recreation fees for a specific period of time,
typically a year, beginning from the date of first use.
2) a $10 lifetime senior pass for U.S. citizens 62 or over;
3) a free lifetime access pass for citizens with permanent disabilities ; and
4) a new, free annual volunteer pass for volunteers acquiring 500 hours of service on a cumulative basis.
The new interagency pass is good at vehicle-based entry sites for all
occupants in a single, non-commercial vehicle. At walk-up sites, the
pass is good for the pass holder and three adults (total of four
adults). There is no charge for children under 16. This represents a
particularly cost-effective opportunity for families traveling to
federal recreation sites. For comparison purposes, Parks Canada offers
a family/group annual pass for about $140.
Some specific examples of projects funded with fee revenues include:
rehabilitating the Yellowstone National Park Canyon Visitor Center and
creating new exhibits at Yellowstone National Park, enhancing boat
launch facilities on the Tonto National Forest in Arizona, building an
accessible boardwalk at Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest in Wyoming,
and improving the museum at Desoto National Wildlife Refuge in Iowa.
The new passes - which feature award-winning landscape photographs of
federal lands - are part of a new interagency "Share the Experience"
Annual Federal Lands Photo Contest. The contest, sponsored by the
National Park Service, the National Park Foundation, and Casio,
encourages visitors to submit photos of federal lands for a chance to
have their image chosen for the next year's annual pass.
The passes will be durable, plasticized, and designed with technology that will enable future improvements to the program.
For more information, please contact DOI's U.S. Geological Survey at
http://store.usgs.gov/pass or phone 1-888-275-8747 Option 1. The
annual pass will be available for sale through the USGS store and
through the government's federal lands recreation web portal at
www.recreation.gov in January 2007.
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- Land management 
