ENGLISH
FOR
CONGRESS POSITION PAPER (Revised January 2012)
As
a person who spends most of every summer camping and hiking on
Federal lands and occasionally fishing in Federal waters in the
Rocky Mountain states, I have become very familiar with the
recreational management policies affecting the public users of
Federal lands (National Parks, National Forests, Bureau of Land
Management Lands, etc.). Well over half of the total land
area in the Mountain Time Zone is owned by the Federal
government. User fees for park admission and camping in
all Federal campgrounds have escalated much more rapidly during
the past thirty years than increases in the minimum wage, which
severely punishes low income families desiring to take
inexpensive vacations on Federal lands. Admissions fees
are now almost twice the Federal minimum wage: forty years ago
they were about the same. Some overnight Federal
campground fees are almost four times the minimum wage now: they
were lower than the minimum wage 40 years ago. In addition,
daily trail user fees are now being imposed for many hiking
trails that originate inside or at forest, park, or recreational
area boundaries.
The
adverse consequences of ever increasing user fees and other
restrictions have resulted in reduced visitation at many
recreational areas. Operating
these areas “as profit-oriented businesses” which are expected
to recover an ever increasing percentage of the cost of their
maintenance and/or improvements is fundamentally unethical and
denies citizens the opportunity to enjoy them based upon their
ability to pay the continually increasing real cost of entry and
use. Recreational
fee increases should be based upon a formula that adjusts fees
using the current national minimum wage rate no more than one
half hour’s pay for entry per vehicle per week and one hour’s
pay per night for each campsite used. Free recreational user
permits as described below for citizens with limited incomes
also should be provided. In
addition, recreational vehicles with self-contained toilets
should be permitted to use designated scenic overlooks, picnic
areas, and parking lots between the hours of 5:00 P. M. and 9:00
A. M. the following morning on weekends and other times when
campgrounds are expected to be filled for one-half the
campground fee. The
additional campsites thereby made available would provide
campsites for tent and other vehicle campers that otherwise
would be turned away and forced to leave the recreational area.
Trail, picnic ground, and other usage fees should be banned.
Non-resident U. S. citizens who wish to hunt or fish on Federal
lands in other states also are subjected to extortionate short
term hunting and fishing fees imposed by state Game and Fish
Departments. A one day non-resident fishing permit in
Wyoming cost $15 per person daily in 2005. Non-resident
state license fees for hunting on Federal lands are even more
outrageous, often well exceeding $100 plus the substantial added
cost of any special big game permit. In situations where a
lottery is held to draw a limited number of permits for hunting
certain big game species, non-residents are flagrantly
discriminated against and often excluded from the lottery even
though the habitat of the big game species involved is solely
limited to Federal lands. These same states receive
hundreds of millions of dollars from timber sales held annually
on Federal lands, yet they continue to discriminate against U.
S. citizens living in other states that desire to hunt or fish
on these same lands. Public support of natural resource
conservation and preservation for our Federal lands
ultimately depends upon widespread public benefit from access
and use of these lands and waters. As more citizens are
excluded from their enjoyment by ever-increasing user fees and
other restrictions, public support for these conservation
programs will gradually diminish as more citizens realize that
they cannot also share the benefits from the recreational use of
these areas.
I propose that the Congress pass legislation implementing the
sale of Federal hunting and fishing licenses at nominal fees to
all U. S. citizens. These licenses would be used only on
or within Federally-owned lands and waters. If the states
affected wish to participate in this Federal initiative, 90% of
the fees collected from Federal license sales in would be
remitted to the participating states' according to a formula
based upon the amount of Federal land in each state and the
level of state expenditures for wildlife conservation
programs. They would be designated only for funding
wildlife conservation efforts with the provision that
non-residents be permitted to hunt or fish anywhere in that
state on the same basis as that state's residents, without
discrimination or special exception. In addition,
for all citizens who file income tax returns with incomes just
above or below the poverty level, the IRS would be instructed to
mail a special Federal recreational user certificate valid until
September 30th of the following calendar year. These
non-transferable Federal recreational certificates would provide
their recipients free admission to all Federal national and
historical parks and recreational facilities with a $1.00
maximum charge per night for campground occupancy.
For families with incomes between the poverty level and twice
that amount, 50 % discounts for admissions and other fees would
be provided using the same mechanism. Why not give the
working poor and near poor some recreation fee relief? The
wealthy continue to get preferential tax treatment for capital
gains every year.
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Designed by Imad-ad-Dean,
Inc.