The following editorial appeared in the Ventura County Star on September 26, 2004.
The government charges us all for a lot of things. Enjoying the national forest should not be one of them.
Unfortunately, money talks, so there is little incentive to stop making people pay to enjoy Los Padres Forest in Ventura County and three other national forests in Southern California.
Once there was a time that if someone wanted to go for a walk in the woods, he parked his car and took off. However, since 1997, hikers, campers and picnickers have first had to purchase a day pass for $5 or an annual pass for $30 before heading out.
The law that allows the fees to be collected will expire Dec. 31, 2005, unless Congress reauthorizes it, which it appears to be itching to do. Last week, the House Resources Committee voted to extend the fees for 10 years.
This latest fee proposal is slightly less onerous than the current one in that visitors would no longer pay to park their vehicles beside the road or to use a nondeveloped area. They would, however, continue to pay to use campgrounds and other public facilities. The legislation also adds the Bureau of Reclamation to the list of agencies that can collect the fee: the Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management and Fish and Wildlife Service.
If the bill is approved by the House, the Senate may not have time to hear it this year, so its fate is still uncertain. A dedicated conservation group in Ventura County, Keep the Sespe Wild, and others in the state, have opposed the forest fee since its inception and are now fighting its extension. The Star commends them for their efforts.
Most people can afford the fee, but that's not the point. No price can or should be put on the opportunity to enjoy the solitude and beauty of our national forests.
Some of the best things in life used to be free. If the Adventure Pass is extended for another decade, a walk in the forest still won't be one of them.
The Adventure Pass may put a few more dollars in the government's till, but we are all poorer for it.