Legislation would restrict national forest fee

By: DAVE DOWNEY - Staff Writer | Wednesday, November 24, 2004 10:20 PM PST ∞

National forests in Southern California would be able to continue charging a recreation fee for another decade if President Bush signs legislation tacked onto a $388 billion federal spending bill last weekend.

But it remains unclear precisely what form that fee will take, local forest officials say.

Since 1996, Southern Californians who visit the Cleveland, San Bernardino, Angeles and Los Padres forests have had to buy an "Adventure Pass" to park their cars anywhere in the forest, whether they were stopping to enjoy a picnic, striking out on a hike or just taking in a breathtaking mountain view.

Those passes sell for $5 for a one-day visit and for $30 for an unlimited number of annual visits.

The legislation passed both houses of Congress over the weekend, but will need another vote by the House of Representatives because of amendments.

Under the proposed law, forest officials would still be able to charge a fee, said Matt Streit, deputy press secretary for the House Resources Committee. They wouldn't be able to charge for parking or picnicking, or for visiting places that are not developed recreation sites.

Fee opponents and forest officials differ sharply in their interpretation of the legislation, which would extend the fee program 10 years.

"I think there will be dramatic changes," said Scott Silver, executive director for Wild Wilderness, an Oregon-based conservation group. "I would say that you have to lose your Adventure Pass."

Not so, say local forest officials.

"We believe there will be some changes," said Ruth Wenstrom, spokeswoman for the San Bernardino National Forest. "But we believe the program will continue substantially the way it is."

Wenstrom said a more likely scenario is that federal officials won't be able to require visitors to display passes in their windshields at some places where they are required to display them now.

Joan Wynn, a Cleveland National Forest spokeswoman in Rancho Bernardo, said, "We still are going to have some form of recreation fee, but we don't know what it's going to look like."

Fee opponents say that, while they support eliminating some activities from the fee's umbrella, the idea of charging people to visit public lands is a bad one.

"I don't like it," said Gene Frick, a Sierra Club member from Lake Elsinore. "I grew up in a time when everybody was a steward of the forests, eagerly putting out camp fires and picking up trash. You figured it was your national forest."

Now, Frick said, it's as if the forests no longer belong to the people.

Bob Bartsch, chairman of the opposition group Free Our Forests in Los Angeles, said, "We are still losing a portion of our freedom. We pay federal taxes to maintain our public lands and we should have free access to those lands."

But Wenstrom said agencies aren't receiving enough from taxes to maintain forest facilities, and the fee has filled that gap.

"It's been an absolutely critical part of our being able to provide services to the public and take care of the land we were entrusted with," Wenstrom said.

Without the fee money, she said, "We would just be back to having a lot of graffiti and trash."

Contact staff writer Dave Downey at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2616, or ddowney@californian.com.

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