(National Day of Action to End Forest Fees -- SUPPORT MATERIALS)
The following is an example news releases from which you might wish to borrow ideas when writing your own release. This example is on the lengthy side compared to typical news releases but is appropriate for a formal event organized by a large organization.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JUNE 1, 2002 Contact: XXXXXXXXXXXX, TEL. (XXX)XXX-XXXX YYYYYYYYYYYY JOINS OPPOSITION TO CONTROVERSIAL RECREATION USER FEES FOR ACCESS TO PUBLIC LANDS, WILL PARTICIPATE IN JUNE 15, 2002 NATIONAL DAY OF PROTEST AGAINST FEES Summary: Volunteers from YYYYYYYYYYYY will be out in force throughout Angeles National Forest on Saturday, June 15, joining hundreds of grassroots activists across the country in a National Day of Protest against the Federal Recreation Fee Demonstration Program, being implemented in Southern California under the innocuous name "Adventure Pass". The Pass, which costs $5 per day or $30 per year, has been required of all visitors to Southern California national forests since June 1997. Volunteers will be handing out information flyers explaining why YYYYYYYYYYYY opposes the program, and talking to forest visitors to urge them to contact Members of Congress with a request for repeal of the program. "Why must forest visitors pay a fee to enjoy a hike, observe wildlife, or watch a sunset," asks YYYYYYYYYYYY activist XXXXXXXX XXXXXX, "while taxpayer funds are being used to subsidize commercial extractive industries that result in environmental damage to forest natural resources?" "And why", he adds, "is the government charging fees, which discriminate against our poorest citizens, for simple recreational activities when it is well known that recreation is necessary for a healthy and productive life?" The times and locations of protests are as follows: VVVVVVV, CCCCCCCCC, DDDDDDDD, NNNNNNNNNNN, The national Day of Protest is being coordinated by Scott Silver of Bend, Oregon, the nation's leading activist in alerting forest visitors to the dangers of commercialization of our nation's public lands. Grassroots organizations which have sprung up wherever the Rec Fee Demo Program has been implemented will also be participating in the National Day of Protest. Background: Although the U.S. Forest Service, Bush Administration, and Congress continue to expound the public's willingness to pay fees in order to visit National Forest and Bureau of Land Management lands, there is increasing evidence of public disapproval. Grassroots organizations opposed to charging fees for recreational access have sprung up throughout the country, and national environmental advocacy groups are stepping up efforts to terminate the experimental Recreation Fee Demonstration Program. Under this program, authorized by a rider attached to the 1996 Department of Interior Appropriations Act, four government agencies (Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Park Service) have been charging fees for access to hiking trails, picnic sites, and other recreation facilities. Meanwhile Congress has deliberately reduced recreational appropriations to these agencies, which are plagued by enormous maintenance backlogs and outdated facilities. The public and environmentalists are asking why the Forest Service and other agencies are still starved for money at a time when there is a trillion-dollar budget surplus. Millions of visitors directly benefit from funding for facilities and management of public lands each year, making it one of the greatest values afforded to taxpayers. "What this adds up to is an effort to acclimate the public to paying for something for which there is a long tradition of free access," says XXXX XXXXXXX,. "Recreation industry lobbyists have been pushing user fees since 1979. If the public has to pay for recreational access and Congress permits private industry to develop commercial facilities on public lands, then the proponents of privatization stand to reap enormous economic benefit." Although many people are willing to pay to use recreation facilities on public lands, environmentalists counter that protections afforded to forests and watersheds through proper management and limited development benefit everyone by providing clean air and water, wildlife habitat, and healthy forests. Scott Silver, Executive Director of Wild Wilderness in Bend, Oregon, reports "The Forest Service shows no inclination to listen to the growing public opposition to Forest fees. Unless enough public protest reaches Congress directly, it is likely that Forest fees will soon be made permanent." With this in mind, Wild Wilderness and organizations throughout the country are joining in a National Day of Protest against the Recreation Fee Demonstration Program on June 15, 2000. Their views have already found sympathetic ears. Legislation to end Forest Service participation in the Rec Fee Demo Program, known as the Forest Access Immediate Relief Act (HR 908), has recently been introduced by Congresswoman Lois Capps (D, Santa Barbara). This legislation, if enacted, would offset lost revenues by prohibiting the use of taxpayer funds to subsidize logging roads constructed for the benefit of purchasers of Forest Service timber. "It's just not fair that my constituents must pay extra fees to hike, picnic, or see a sunset in our National Forests," says Rep. Capps, "when big logging companies get subsidies for their activities on these same public lands." YYYYYYYYYYYY also opposes the Rec Fee Demo Program because of its ominous potential to transform recreational management of public lands from a public service orientation to a commercial enterprise. There is strong evidence that recreational interests that generate the most income would take precedence over lower-impact activities like hiking, camping, backcountry skiing, nature study, and educational outings. This trend toward commercialization and privatization of the nation's priceless public lands is an additional reason YYYYYYYYYYYY opposes recreational user fees. --- END ---