The following editorial appeared in the Santa Barbara News-Press on August 1, 1999.
To say that South and Central coast residents aren't happy with the U.S. Forest Service's Adventure Pass program is an understatement on the order of saying cats don't like dogs. In fact, those creatures often show more restraint and civility in ther interactions than between the Forest Service and citizens required to buy the day pass to visit their favorite wilderness.
The Adventure Pass is part of a scheme concocted by the Forest Service to off-set massive budget cits in recent years. When the need for money became acute three years ago, a pilot project was launched in several National Forests in Western states, including four in California.
To the ever-lasting dismay of local hikers and wilderness lovers, Los Padres National Forest was included in the California version of the Adventure Pass pilot program, which requires forest users to buy a daily pass for $5 or an annual pass for $30. The money raised by the Adventure Pass program has been earmarked for trail and campground maintenance and cleanup: This year the Adventure Pass program is expected to raise about $350,000 for use in Los Padres National Forest. In addition to providing funding for maintenance, the pass also pays the salaries of four Forest Service employees and for public bathrooms at various local campground sites.
All that sounds pretty good — until you get to the point of actually getting people to buy the Adventure Pass. An entire protest subculture has grown up around this issue, inclufing creation of a group called Free Our Forests, which has been spearheading a protest against the Forest Service. Mostly the protest has taken the form of encouraging National Forest users not to buy the Adventure Pass and to complain to elected representatives.
The News-Press has been critical of the Adventure Pass since its inception three years ago. We see it as double taxation, forcing citizens to first pay for the facility, and then have to pay to use it. We do not disagree with the belief of many that simply not spending the extra money on maintenance — letting wild places remain wild — would be preferable to yet another layer of bureaucracy.
But the protest against the Adventure Pass has taken an unfortunate turn. The Free Our Forests group has announced its intention to print and distribute so-called "certificates of exemption" documents, the bearer of which would theoretically be exempt from having to pay for an Adventure Pass. Critics of the federal program apparently have found what they consider to be a loophole in the law, one that allows people visiting a National Forest for spiritual and/or religious reasons to be there without additional cost.
The exemption may very well be real, but critics of the Adventure Pass should also be thinking of the hassle this has the potential for causing for local employees of the Forest Service. Officials of that agency already promised that Forest Service officers will be on the lookout for the exemption certificates, and will make on-the-spot judgements as to whether or not the claim is legitimate — or just another facet of the on-going conflict over the Adventure Pass.
This country has a long and storied record of civil disobedience, and non-violent acts in that category have altered the course of history more than a few times. But since the Adventure Pass policy is becoming more, not less entrenched, the protest needs to be aimed at the decision-makers, not those charged with the responsibility of enforcing the policy.
In other words, those opposed to the Adventure Pass program ought to direct their ire at the policy-making core in Washington. You can start such a protest by contacting Rep. Lois Capps at: 22nd Congressional District, 1118 Longworth House Bldg., Washington, D.C., 20515. Capps has been a tireless opponent of the Adventure Pass but the more cards and letters of protest she receives, the more ammunition she has when dealing with other members of Congress. You should also send copies of your protest to California Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer; Feinstein at 311 Hart Senate Office Bldg., and Boxer at 112 Hart Senate Office Bldg., in Washington, D.C. 20510.
Perhaps more importantly, you should let the Forest Service know of your displeasure. The best way to do that is not to challenge a Forest Service officer in the field, but to send your cars and letters to: U.S. Forest Service, Recreation and Wilderness Resources, P.O.Box 96090, Washington, D.C., 20090-6090; or call the service directly at: 202-205-1706.
That may not be the direct confrontation some people seek, but it is a far more civil way of demonstrating displeasure with government policy.