Fee-Demo Protest On August 14 at
San Francisco's Justin Herman Plaza
More than 100 environmental organizations, outdoor recreation groups, state and local governments have called for an end to the highly unpopular Fee-Demo program. Bipartisan legislation has been introduced to immediately eliminate this program from all National Forests. Yet even with all this opposition, the land managers who stand to gain from charging recreational fees are telling Congress that people actually like to pay them. They are telling President Clinton that Fee-Demo is so successful, that he should call for fees to be permanently authorized without further delay.
To keep our national forests and other public lands wild and to continue the long tradition of free access, we must use the remaining months of this millenium to send an irrefutable message to Congress and the Clinton Administration. We must let them know that we OPPOSE being treated as customers and that we oppose the current attempt to commercialize, privatize and motorize lands that we own.
The underlying purpose of pay-to-play recreation is to pave the way for commercial development and to accommo-date motorized recreation on federal lands. Congress continues to slash funding for recreation, such that management agencies are unable to maintain even existing facilities without seeking "help" from the private sector.
This policy promotes high impact commercial recreation uses that provide the most revenue (downhill skiing, ORV use, resort development, and power boating) over low impact activities (hiking, backcountry skiing, and nature study). High impact recreation adds to noise, air, and water pollution, compromises endangered species, destroys habitat, and reduces the USFS and BLM managers' ability to focus on crucial restoration of watersheds and fish habitat, damaged forests, and endangered ecosystems.
Already, the trend toward charging fees in National Forests has brought in commercial operators to "help" federal land managers by setting up and running for profit franchises that offer highly developed facilities on public lands - for those willing and able to pay!
- The act of paying fundamentally alters the way one relates to the outdoors.
- Fees will keep poorer Americans from enjoying public visitor centers, parks, etc.
- Commercialism is virtually inescapable . except on undeveloped public lands.
- The taxes we pay subsidize loggers, miners and grazers who destroy our lands when those dollars should be used to maintain public lands for our enjoyment.
- The federal government has a trillion dollar surplus. Trail fees are not needed!
To ensure intense disapproval is heard loudly and clearly, join the San Francisco Bay Chapter at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday August 14, 1999 in San Francisco's Justin Herman Plaza (Market and Embarcadero) to demonstrate opposition! T-shirts and picket signs will be provided, but you're encouraged to bring your own. We will be among many in communities and on public lands across this nation demonstrating our determination to protect our forests and other special places and to keep them forever 'Wild and Free.' PLEASE JOIN US.
If you cannot join the protest in San Francisco on August 14, please do one or all of the following:
1. Call or write to your own Congressional representative at: your Rep to support HR786, the Forest Tax Relief Bill and also to work for restoration of public funding for appropriate public lands recreation.
2. Call or write: Vice President Gore. Ask him to withdraw administrative support of the user fee program.
3. E-mail: http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/fee_demo/fee_intro.shtml. USFS managers are pushing for Fee-Demo with skewed information. Oppose Fee-Demo on this official USFS site.
For information on the Chapter's protest, Contact Jeff Kane (510 893-4335, jkane@blockenviron.com) to R.S.V.P. and for more information, or to volunteer to hand out flyers at National Forest, BLM, and National Park trailheads and parking lots or make posters ahead of time.
To learn more about this extremely important issue, please contact:
Scott Silver
Wild Wilderness
Phone: 541-385-5261
E-mail: ssilver@wildwilderness.org
Internet: www.wildwilderness.org