On October 22, the Sedona City Council
voted 5-2 to pass a resolution to restore proper funding for public lands in
order to eliminate the Recreational Fee Demonstration Program known in the
Sedona area as the "Red Rock Pass." One of the dissenting votes
came from a council member calling for a stronger resolution.
On October 11, the 9th Circuit Court of
Appeals ruled on an appeal filed on behalf od Mr. Terry Dahl by Mrs. Mary
Ellen Barilotti. In an unpublished opinion, the court upheld Mr. Dahl's
conviction for a violation of the Recreational Fee Demonstration Program
(Fee Demo).
In upholding Mr. Dahl's conviction, the court ruled that the Forest Service had the power to require any visitor to pay the recreational fee, regardless of what activity the individual was engaged in.
Simultaneously, however, the court ruled that a violation of the fee is punishable by a maximum $100 fine. The Forest Serivce has attempted in this and other cases to declare a violation a Class B misdemeanor punishable by a maximum $5000 fine and/or 6 months in jail. This ruling makes any Fee Demo violation an infraction, upholding the Fee Demo law's original enforcement guidelines.
It is unlikely that any federal court in the future will pursue Fee Demo violators for an infraction as the federal courts mainly deal with serious crime. Pursuing infractions would tie up the federal court system and force it to spend its budget on low-level cases.
The court did not rule on the majority of Mrs. Barilotti's arguments relating to improper implementation of the law authorizing Fee Demo. Mrs. Barilotti has filed a motion to reconsider her original arguments.