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Contacts:
Alasdair Coyne, Keep Sespe Wild
Robert Funkhouser Western Slope No Fee Coalition
NO FEE RESOLUTION PASSES CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLY
On Monday April 23rd, the California Assembly passed Assembly Joint
Resolution 21 (AJR 21), which memorializes the President and Congress
to repeal the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA), a 2004
law which authorizes federal public lands agencies to charge fees for
access to those lands. AJR 21 passed the Assembly floor by 62:10
votes. The text of AJR 21 can be found here.
AJR 21 passed the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife at a
hearing on Wednesday April 18th, by an 11:2 vote. Testifying before
the committee was AJR 21's author Assemblyman Anthony Portantino (D,
Pasadena), who stated that "the fees created a backlash from people who
saw them as double taxation and a barrier to public access. Fee
opponents point out that this fundamental change in public lands policy
had been accomplished without public debate or Congressional
discussion," a reference to the FLREA's passage in December 2004 as a
last-minute rider to an important appropriations bill.
Also testifying were Alasdair Coyne of Keep Sespe Wild and John
Karevoll, representing the Western Slope No Fee Coalition. Coyne
testified that "the law this resolution addresses, a permanent fee
authority for federal public lands which make up nearly a quarter of
California's area, has served to increase the variety of fees that face
Californians who enjoy to visit these lands."
The Forest Service circumvents provisions in the FLREA by charging fees
in large areas around developed sites, known as High Impact Recreation
Areas (HIRAs). Despite the FLREA's prohibition on charging fees solely
for parking or for use of dispersed areas, the Forest Service has
designated 31 HIRAs in the Adventure Pass area of Southern California
alone. Each of these HIRAs provides access to undeveloped backcountry,
for which the FLREA also prohibits fees. These 31 HIRAs encompass some
396,230 acres; there are an additional 280 individual recreation sites
designated as fee areas, outside of HIRAs.
Karevoll also testified, "If I drive my son to a basketball game at our
high school and pull to the side of the road to check out the view, I
can be ticketed, ultimately fined $5,000 or get six months jail. We're
not talking about a developed scenic turnout, just the side of State
Highway 18. So the Adventure Pass is clearly a barrier, it keeps
people away. I can tell you that forest visitation has dropped the
past few years despite the Inland Empire's growth. In fact, half the
time I see nobody. Even on major holidays."
Other groups supporting the passage of AJR 21 by the California
legislature include the Sierra Club, the California Native Plant
Society, the California Equestrian Trails and Land Coalition, the
Planning and Conservation League, Public Lands for the People and Free
Our Forests.
AJR 21 will now go over to the California Senate, where it may take a
month to come to a floor vote. The resolution is similar to those
already passed by legislatures in Colorado,. Idaho, Montana, Oregon and
the Alaskan House of Representatives, and will send a clear message to
legislators in Washington DC who are evaluating the FLREA's future.
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