User Fees for Federal Lands: A Failed Experiment

[marmar]

from ReclaimDemocracy!:



User Fees for Federal Lands: A Failed Experiment
By Kitty Benzar
Published March 18, 2008



Recreating on federal public lands has been a cherished birthright of Americans for generations and, with a few narrow exceptions, a right enjoyed without charge. The 1996 Recreational Fee Demonstration Program (Fee Demo) radically altered that tradition by requiring payment simply to access public lands for hiking, camping, and many other activities.

The harm from Fee Demo wasn't merely commercializing the experience; it effectively transferred ownership of our federal public lands from the people to land management agencies.

It now is common to see literature from our land management agencies referring to we citizens as “customers,” not owners, of our public lands. User fees are limiting access to backcountry for many working-class families, and many recreation sites not generating sufficient user fees are being closed. Predictably, public lands visitation has declined for a decade.

Areas requiring significant upkeep, such as developed campgrounds have charged modest fees for decades, but Fee Demo allowed the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to begin charging us for nearly any activity -- even a walk in the woods.

The Fee “Demonstration” program since has been extended repeatedly, and those agencies have expanded user fees to millions of acres of public lands. Entrance fees are charged for entire National Forests and use of state and county roads. National Park entrance fees jumped from $5 to $20 in some cases, and the NPS began charging additional, layered fees for such things as backcountry permits and educational programs. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://reclaimdemocracy.org/articles/2008/access_fees_failed.php

[annabanana]

1. The only reason we aren't buying tickets to get into the libraries

is the internet...