American Whitewater has just learned that Congress has extended Fee Demo authorization for an additional 15 months. Pasted below are two relevant references to fee-demo contained within the Interior Appropriations Bill that recently passed out of Conference Committee (where the House and Senate reconcile the differences between similar legislative initiatives). One reference extends the program. The other stipulates that fee-demo revenues may not be used to displace commercial recreation-providers now operating on public lands.
If you are concerned about pay fees to access public lands, you should consider writing an OpEd for your local newspapers.
American Whitewater’s Jason Robertson testified on Fee Demo on September 17th, more information is available at www.americanwhitewater.org/archive/article/955/.
CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 2691, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2004
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Section 332–The conference agreement modifies House
section 332 to extend the Recreation Fee Demonstration
Program for 15 months instead of a two-year extension as
proposed by the House.
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Sec. 319. A project undertaken by the Forest Service under
the Recreation Fee Demonstration Program as authorized by
section 315 of the Department of the Interior and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 1996, as amended,
shall not result in–
(1) displacement of the holder of an authorization to
provide commercial recreation services on Federal lands.
Prior to initiating any project, the Secretary shall consult
with potentially affected holders to determine what impacts
the project may have on the holders. Any modifications to the
authorization shall be made within the terms and conditions
of the authorization and authorities of the impacted agency;
(2) the return of a commercial recreation service to the
Secretary for operation when such services have been provided
in the past by a private sector provider, except when–
(A) the private sector provider fails to bid on such
opportunities;
(B) the private sector provider terminates its relationship
with the agency; or
(C) the agency revokes the permit for non-compliance with
the terms and conditions of the authorization.
In such cases, the agency may use the Recreation Fee
Demonstration Program to provide for operations until a
subsequent operator can be found through the offering of a
new prospectus.