This summer, the Forest Service authorized the abrupt transfer of recreation fees to fund fire fighting efforts. AW reported on this on June 27th. Following additional research and increasing concern that the funds would not be reimbursed to work on the river and trail projects for which the funds were collected from hikers and boaters, our group and other recreation-oriented conservation organziations wrote variations on the following letter to the recipients listed below. If this use of Fee Demo funds concerns you, consider writing your own letter based on the one below and sending it to your elected representatives, Representative Skeen, or Senator Byrd.
Mr. Dale Bosworth, Chief (Sent 10.18.02)
USDA Forest Service
201 14th Street, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250
Ms. Adrienne Erbach
Chief, Agriculture Branch
Office of Management and Budget
8235 New Executive Office Building
725 17th Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20503
Representative Joe Skeen
Subcommittee on Interior Appropriations
B308 Rayburn HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515-6023
Senator Robert Byrd, Chair
Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations
S-128, The Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Chief Bosworth,
We, the undersigned human-powered recreation groups, represent our members across the nation. Our members hike, mountain bike, paddle, ski, snowshoe, and climb on public lands of all designations. We are very interested in preserving and increasing recreation funding for trails and facilities across public lands. Many of our favorite trails and facilities have suffered years of neglect due to lack of maintenance funding. We view recreation funding as a key need for our members, providing for both public health and conservation.
We were dismayed to learn that recreation dollars had been diverted from their intended purposes to pay for fire fighting. Following are the programs and amounts that were diverted:
- Capital Improvements, including trails: $157 million
- Land and Water Conservation Funds (LWCF): $143 million
- Recreation, Wilderness, and Heritage funds: $9.4 million
- Recreation Fee Demonstration (Fee Demo): $14 million
While we recognize that fighting fires close to homes is important, we object to diversion of scarce recreation dollars, particularly when refund of these monies is not guaranteed. We are also concerned about the loss of Land and Water Conservation Fund dollars earmarked for land acquisition—notably, acquisitions around the Florida, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide National Scenic Trails. Loss of these funds impacts recreation opportunities on these very popular long-distance trails and other significant recreation areas nationwide. Capital improvement dollars, earmarked for trail projects, as well as recreational roads and facilities are a painful loss, particularly as more and more people recreate using these resources.
That said, the most unacceptable diversion is loss of recreation fee demonstration, or Fee Demo, dollars. These monies are paid by recreationists for maintenance of the recreation infrastructure. Diversion of these funds is a violation of the public trust. Recreation user fee dollars should never be used for any reason other than their intended purpose. To do otherwise cuts counter to the spirit of the program. This diversion makes the program difficult to defend for groups that are so inclined. It also increases acrimony toward the program in an already-skeptical user community.
In order to prevent another occurrence of this situation, we insist that Congress:
- Fully refund all recreation dollars, including LWCF funds, to the programs from which they were drawn.
- Work with the fee-paying public to ensure that any legislation permanently authorizing user fees places fee revenues off limits from diversion.
These remedies are essential to the long-term health of our recreation infrastructure. In the case of Fee Demo diversions, restoration of these funds is necessary for the long term health of the program and to the public trust.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Guzzo, Director of Advocacy
Washington Trails Association
Lloyd Athearn, Deputy Director
American Alpine Club
Celina Montorfano, Conservation Policy Manager
American Hiking Society
Gary Sprung, Senior National Policy Advisor
International Mountain Bicycling Association
Bruce Ward, Executive Director
Continental Divide National Scenic Trail Alliance
Jennifer Lamb, Public Policy Director
National Outdoor Leadership School
Jason Robertson, Access Director
American Whitewater
Glenn Eades, President
The Mountaineers