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The 1996, passage of Fee-Demo gave the land management agencies virtually cart blanche to charge visitors for recreation, access and use. Inventiveness in setting and collecting was strongly encouraged. Nine years ago as part of this inventiveness, the U.S. Forest Service converted a portion of one of Colorado's State highways into what, for all intents and purposes, became a federal toll road. What the USFS did was probably illegal, though they got away with it for many years.
In 2004, the Federal Land Recreation Enhancement Act abolished Fee-Demo and gave the land management agencies much more limited authority to charge user fees. Many of the fees charged under Fee-Demo were clearly prohibited by FLREA.
And so when the U.S. Forest Service continued to charge drivers on Colorado's Mount Evans Highway, what they were doing became unambiguously illegal and utterly shameless.
The appended article from yesterday's Denver Post explains what had been going on and, more importantly, details a much appreciated victory for the citizens of Colorado. The State of Colorado has stepped in and busted up the U.S. Forest Service's illegal toll road operation. Hopefully other States where the U.S. Forest Service continues to operate similarly illegal toll booths will take similar actions against the law-breaking Forest Service.
Scott
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04/29/2007
State chops feds' fee for Mt. Evans
By Steve Lipsher - Denver Post Staff Writer
The views along the Mount Evans Highway have been described as
priceless, but for the past nine years the U.S. Forest Service has
managed to nick as much as $10 from virtually every vehicle heading up
the highest paved road in the country.
That practice will come to an abrupt end this summer. The Colorado
Department of Transportation insists the federal government cannot
charge for use of a state highway built and maintained with state tax
dollars.
"We didn't know that they were charging everyone," said CDOT spokeswoman Stacey Stegman. " ...It's illegal under state law."
The Forest Service began charging travelers at its Echo Lake entrance
station in 1997 under the controversial federal fee-demonstration
program, which has generated as much as $300,000 annually for upkeep of
rest rooms, picnic areas and safety patrols on the mountain.
Few visitors have understood that the fees don't apply to those
traveling to and from the 14,126-foot summit parking lot who don't use
Forest Service picnic areas and rest rooms. In fact, a sign posted at
the bottom of the winding, 28-mile road reads: "A pass is required for
travel beyond this point."
"They have been misrepresenting things. The average person would think
that he had to pay," said Robert Funkhouser, president of the Western
Slope No-Fee Coalition, an organization battling the federal government
over fees for use of public lands.
Forest officials dispute that characterization, insisting the "pass"
could be obtained free of charge. They acknowledge many people didn't
discern the difference between acquiring a pass and paying a fee.
Drivers had to ask specifically about the pass or they would be charged the use fees.
Completed in 1927, the summer-only, dead-end highway each year attracts an estimated 130,000 visitors.
This past winter, when state and federal authorities began revisiting
their agreement on the operation of Colorado 5, state officials learned
every vehicle was being charged.
State officials demanded that the renewed agreement include signs
indicating "No charge for travel on State Highway 5" and "USFS fees are
not used to maintain State Highway 5."
The Forest Service balked, not wanting to pay for the signs.
"They're thinking: 'How are we going to get people to pay if they don't have to pay?"' Funkhouser said.
The state intends to install signs with or without federal approval,
according to e-mails obtained from Jay Kramer, a manager with CDOT.
With the traditional opening about a month away, forest supervisors
haven't decided how the road will be managed, but possibilities include
abandoning the entrance station and establishing permanent
fee-collection stations at facilities maintained by the agency, said
John Bustos, spokesman for the Arapaho and Roosevelt national forests.
The Forest Service also hasn't hazarded a guess on how much its budget will be cut if far fewer people pay.
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- Land management 
