| WESTERN SLOPE NO-FEE COALITION |
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THE FEE-FREE PRESS
DEAR PUBLIC LANDS SUPPORTER
In February, we alerted you to a bill introduced in the House that would authorize the Federal land management agencies to require permits, and charge fees for them, for all access to "special areas." That term would mean whatever the agency managers wanted it to mean. They could, if they so chose, declare all federal public lands to be "special areas."
THE BILL PASSED THE HOUSE THIS WEEK AND IS CURRENTLY BEING CONSIDERED IN THE SENATE. HELP STOP IT NOW BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!
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BILL WOULD AUTHORIZE ACCESS FEES FOR ALL FEDERAL LANDS
Permit fees for individual use of "special areas" opens the door to requiring fees for anyone to do anything, anywhere on federal public lands.
A bill that is being promoted as a benign revision to the way permits for guides and outfitters are administered contains a few tricky words that amount to a booby trap for the public because they could be used to charge fees for all access to our federal public lands.
The bill is HR289, the Guides and Outfitters Act, or GO Act. The bulk of the bill would affect those holding permits to provide commercial guiding services or conducting organized or competitive events. The WSNFC takes no position on those parts of the bill.
But that's not all that's in it!
There are a few words in Section 2 that would be a giant step backward toward charging fees to the general public -
"For
specialized individual and group use of Federal facilities and Federal recreational lands and waters,
such as, but not limited to, use of special areas or areas where use is allocated, motorized recreational vehicle use, and group activities or events."
The underlined words would take us right back to the bad old days of Fee Demo. Under that unlimited authority, the agencies could and did, on several National Forests and thousands of acres of undeveloped BLM-managed lands, charge a fee for anyone to do anything, anywhere. The public responded then with outrage, which is why the
current fee law that replaced Fee Demo contains significant restrictions on what fees can be charged. Congress imposed those restrictions in direct response to public outcry against Fee Demo. This proposed language would be an end-run around them.
Neither "specialized use" nor "special area" is defined. The land agencies would have complete discretion to call any activity a "specialized use" and to designate any place at all as a "special area." For example, an entire National Forest or all the BLM lands in a whole state could be declared to be a "special area" and any visit to such an area could be declared to be a "specialized use." There would be nothing to stop that. And since the agencies get to keep all recreation fee money directly, there would not be anywhere that they wouldn't have a strong incentive to charge a fee.
Another worrisome aspect is the bill's use of the phrase
"such as but not limited to"
Those six words open the trap door even wider, since the agencies could add absolutely anything to the list of examples in the bill. Remember that failure to pay a federal recreation fee is a
federal misdemeanor, with penalties that can go as high as a $100,000 fine and/or a year of incarceration. No law that carries criminal penalties should ever contain a phrase like
"such as but not limited to" - it's an open invitation to agency abuse. There would be nothing to stop them from administratively adding things that require fees to the list of examples in the bill, transforming law-abiding citizens into criminals if they don't pay those fees.
TAKE ACTION!
The Bill sailed through the House Natural Resources Committee and was passed by the full House on October 2nd. It has been sent to the Senate for their consideration and possible concurrence. It's essential that every Senator hear from their constituents before this bill goes any further toward being enacted. The part of Section 2 that allows the agencies to define for themselves what is a "specialized use" or a "special area"
must be removed.
HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO DO:
Find your two Senators at the website of the
Senate (select your state). Click on each one's constituent contact form. Use the form to write each of them a short polite note telling them that you oppose the language in
HR289 that authorizes fees for all access by the general public to federal lands and want it removed.
Here is some suggested language you might use. Please modify and personalize this with your specific concerns so that your message won't be dismissed as a form letter.
House Bill HR 289, the Great Outdoors Act, was recently passed by the House and sent to the Senate for consideration. I oppose the language in Section 2 of HR 289 that says fees can be charged
"For specialized individual and group use of Federal facilities and Federal recreational lands and waters, such as, but not limited to, use of special areas"
Such vague language and undefined terms would allow the land management agencies to define for themselves what is a "specialized use" or a "special area." Combined with the strong incentive of being able to retain fee revenue, the agencies could return to charging for access to entire national forests and huge tracts of undeveloped federal lands, just as they did under Fee Demo. The phrase "such as but not limited to" is too vague and ambiguous to be used in any criminal statute and must be removed. Congress must protect the public from agency abuse by carefully defining exactly where and for what activities a Special Recreation Permit can be required.
The Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act which currently governs federal recreation fees contains strong prohibitions against excessive and inappropriate fees that help protect the general public's right to access our federal public lands. The language in Section 2 of HR289 would nullify those protections. Please don't let that happen. Thank you.
The Senate will be taking up this bill in the
Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and you should send them your concerns. Unfortunately they don't accept email from the general public but you should fax or mail them a copy of what you send your Senators. Their contact information is:
Energy and Natural Resources Committee Office
304 Dirksen Senate Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-4971
Fax: (202) 224-6163
Vigorous citizen opposition NOW is the last chance for getting this odious language eliminated from the bill. Please take a moment NOW to let your elected officials know that this is an important issue to you!
Thanks for coming to the defense of your public lands!
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The Western Slope No-Fee Coalition is a broad-based organization consisting of diverse interests including hiking, biking, boating, equestrian and motorized enthusiasts, community groups, local and state elected officials, conservatives and liberals, Republicans and Democrats, and just plain citizens.
Our goals are:
- To eliminate recreation fees for general access to public lands managed by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management
- To eliminate backcountry fees and interpretive program fees in National Parks
- To require more accountability within the land management agencies
- To encourage Congress to adequately fund our public lands
Thank you for your support!
Sincerely,
Kitty Benzar
Western Slope No Fee Coalition |
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