The following article was written by Representative Ralph Regula, Chair of the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, in an article in the 2000 edition of "Our National Forests Magazine." The magazine is a public/private partnership with the Forest Service, underwritten by Coleman Co. (a sustaining member of the American Recreation Coalition). Within the article, Rep. Regula takes resposibility for Fee Demo.
Comments in the article within brackets are added.
[Emphasis added.]
Every summer when I present the annual funding bill for the Department of Interior and related agencies before my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives, I call their attention to Americans' enjoyment of their public lands, and I especially highlight the wonderful recreation opportunities in our vast National Forests.
Those who spend time recreating on our National Forests already know of their great beauty. I like to call our National Forests "the working man's country club" because, for a minimal amount of money, a family may enjoy many different recreational activities.
Because of the diverse opportunities, the National Forests actually receive more visitors than our National Parks. As a result, maintaining campsites, trails, and visitor services consumes an increasing amount of time and money.
As Chairman of the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, I instituted a demonstration program to collect nominal recreation fees on forests and other federal lands to address the enormous backlog of maintenance. For the first time, the fees stay where they are collected and are used for backlog maintenance and projects that enhance the visitor's experience. [Unfortunately, this statement is not totally true. At least a few regions have had the majority of the fee revenues go to the costs of collection, enforcement, and general staffing.]
When we initiated this program, I made a commitment to land managers that under no circumstance would their annual appropriation be reduced as a result of the fee program.
I have set priority for increasing funds in the Forest Service's recreation account to better meet the challenges faced in accommodating visitors. In this year's funding bill, we included nearly $200 million for recreation management, and an additional $43 million for construction of recreation-related facilities. [Additional outlays of money such as this could be used to make up for the fact that the Recreation Fee Demonstration Program does not provide enough revenues for backlog maintenance. Some consider this a cheap ploy to inflate the appearance of a failed program.]
Additional funds coming to the forests through regular appropriations, in combination with recreation fee demonstration funds, are having positive impacts toward enhancing the visitor's experience. Using fee demonstration money, we are upgrading trails, providing new campsites, picnic areas and other amenities.
As our society feels increasing pressures and urbanization from a growing population, the respite that our National Forests can offer will become even more precious. It is my goal that our work to enhance the visitor's recreation experience will provide a strong foundation for this respite, not only for our generation, but for our children and grandchildren.
View the original article in Our National Forests Magazine's online edition