The following editorial appeared in the Pasadena Star News on June 2, 1997.
The Forest Service's 'Adventure Pass' is a terrible way to try to make up for a shortfall in funding for the Angeles National Forest and neighboring forests. We say the plan's built-in inequitites call out for major changes.
The U.S. Forest Service's newest fee scheme, the National Forest Adventure Pass, is a misguided and unworkable attempt to raise cash for forest upkeep. While no one disagrees that the Angeles National Forest's anemic budget needs an infusion of cash, this awkward and unfair pass-or-fine system is clearly not the way to do it.
Under new rules that go into effect June 16, hikers or picnickers who stop in the 651,874-acre wilderness must display the pass on their rear-view mirror of their vehicle. Passes cost $5 a day or $30 a year. The "adventure pass" is also required for visitors to neighboring Cleveland, Los Padres and San Bernardino National Forests. Users caught without a pass will face a $100 fine.
There are several problems with the pass system. First and foremost, it is a clear case of selective enforcement by penalizing families and day hikers the most. Almost every other user is exempt, including skiers, campers, gun enthusiasts who use the shooting ranges, cabin owners or renters and users of designated off-road vehicle areas.
The forest service logic is: If you park in a "private" establishment, you don't pay. But this is flawed. Certainly, these users also enjoy the greater forest amenities. Skiers make potty stops in public restrooms before and after hitting the slopes. Visitors to Follows Camp who drive up for the music festival also enjoy the scenery along the way. And why should dune buggy drivers, who tear up the natural ecosystem, be exempt?
When Congress passed the legislation to allow the users fee, it probably did not envision such inequities. Maybe a gate with a fee for all visitors was more what the Congress expected. But as us often the case, the way the bill plays out in the real world is often very different from the way it was envisioned within the Beltway.
While it's true the forest lost 30 percent of its budget in four years, dropping from an already inadequate $27 million in 1993 to $18 million in 1997, this ill-conceived pass system won't be effective in replenishing those funds. Instead, Congress and in particular, Rep. David Dreier, R-San Dimas, whose district includes the forest, should restore the $9 million to the Angeles National Forest budget. That is the way a forest that hosts 25 million recreation visitors a year can get the funding that the people and the land deserve.