Legislative hearings on Congressman Ralph Regula’s (R-OH) House
Bill, the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (H.R. 3283), which calls for making the
highly controversial Recreation Fee Demonstration Program (Fee Demo) permanent was held on Thursday,
May 6 in the U.S. House Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands. The
bill allows the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, US Fish and Wildlife, Bureau of
Reclamation, as well as the National Park Service to charge entrance or access fees for access to
any of the 640 million acres managed by these agencies.
The hearing was Chaired by Subcommittee Chairman George Radanovich (R-CA) and witnesses asked to testify were heavily stacked in favor of the bill. The lone voice of opposition was Robert Funkhouser, President of the Western Slope No-Fee Coalition, a bipartisan citizen based organization representing state legislatures, town and county governments, user groups, and citizens nation wide in ending the Fee Demo program in the agencies outside of the National Park Service.
Assistant Secretary for the Department of Interior Lynn Scarlett and Tom Thomson of the Forest Service centered their testimony on their desire to manage all public lands as though they were National Parks. Interior Assistant Secretary Scarlett Stated that "the public does not differentiate between land management agencies" and the Forest Service’s Tom Thomson echoed that "Whether a person is visiting a day use site like a trail head,...visitors to public lands expect the same amenities, facilities, and services as those enjoying a national park."
Robert Funkhouser, President of the Western Slope No-Fee Coalition testified that:
"The public knows full well the difference between the National Parks and the lands and waters managed by the Bureau of Land Management, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation, and the Forest Service. To start with they know that the National Parks is where the tollbooths are. The National Parks is where it costs $50.00, in some locations, to enter with their families. The public knows that there is a vastly higher level of infrastructure that needs to be maintained in the Parks and a higher level of service.
"The fundamental dilemma is, does the American public demand that all 640 million acres of public land be managed as National Parks as H.R. 3283 calls for? Is the public really demanding that the land management agencies spend hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to build capital infrastructure to 'enhance' what God has already given us?
"Or, would the public and the local land managers be better served by taking a course that emphasizes the use of our limited resources to maintain what we already have first? To adhere to fiscal responsibility in emphasizing maintenance and operations over uncontrolled growth. A course that upholds public ownership and public access and at the same time gives our local land managers the tools they need to accomplish their mission."
H.R. 3283 also calls for an end to Golden Age Passports that allows Seniors to enter Nation Parks for a onetime cost of $10.00. Seniors would now be required to buy a pass each year to enter any of our public lands.
H.R. 3283 criminalizes failure to pay the fee with a Class B misdemeanor, which carries a maximum fine of $5,000 and 6 months in jail.
Many Congressmen on the House Resources Committee have voiced opposition to the bill including Rep. Scott McInnis (CO-R). Weather H.R. 3283 can get the votes in Committee is uncertain as is wether are not Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo supports this measure.
In May 2004, Laurel Menoche’s guilty
conviction for violating Fee Demo was reversed by US district court judge Whaley of the eastern
district of Washington. Many arguments were provided in her appeal brief, but the main point in
which prompted her guilty verdict reversal was based on the process of ticketing a parked car, with
no other evidence, was a violation of her Fifth amendment rights.
Judge Whaley stated that, "The due process clause of the Fifth Amendment requires the Government to prove every element of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt...The statute at hand requires that the Defendant actually use or be admitted to the recreational are in order to violate the fee provisions. 16 U.S.C 4601-6A, Note. Here the court held 'the government need only prove that the Defendant is the registered owner of an illegally parked vehicle, in order to establish prima facie responsibility, which the Defendant has the right to rebut, if she can.' This holding creates a presumption that registered owners of illegally-parked vehicles have been admitted to, entered, or used recreational areas; it also creates an affirmative defense that the Defendant was not personally present or did not control the vehicle."
Judge Whaley went on to say that "Congress, however, has not specified that the presence of a registered owner’s vehicle is presumptively sufficient to prove the element of use or admittance or created an affirmative defense. Therefore, to uphold the Defendants conviction would be an unconstitutional violation of Defendant’s due process under Patterson."
Opponents of the Recreational Fee Demonstration Program (Fee Demo)
won their first significant victory on Wednesday, May 19, when the U.S. Senate unanimously passed
the Recreational Fee
Authority Act (S.1107), which would make permanent the fee program for the Park Service and
allow the program to expire for the US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and US Fish and
Wildlife Service on Fee Demo's scheduled expiration date of December 31, 2005.
The bill would allow only the National Park Service to retain its entrance and other fees, for use by the agency, instead of forwarding them to the US Treasury.
"We are thrilled that the members of the Senate unanimously recognized that Americans can distinguish between National Parks and their other public lands. We especially thank Senators Craig Thomas (R-WY) and Larry Craig (R-ID) for their leadership on this issue," said Alasdair Coyne, Conservation Director for Keep Sespe Wild. "Their strong support for public ownership of our public lands has been crucial to this successful vote in the Senate."
The Senate vote stands in stark contrast to Fee Demo's uncertain future in the House. On May 6, the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation, and Public Lands held hearings on the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (H.R. 3283) sponsored by Rep. Ralph Regula (R-OH). That bill would require visitors to most federally managed lands to purchase a national America the Beautiful Pass. Visiting Park Service, Forest Service, BLM, Fish and Wildlife, or Bureau of Reclamation lands without the pass would be a Class B Misdemeanor, punishable by up to $5,000 and/or 6 months in jail. The bill would also eliminate the Golden Age Pass, a $10 lifetime pass currently available to seniors that covers National Park entrance fees.
House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo (R-CA) has indicated that he plans to move a bill this session to settle the future of Fee Demo one way or another. Whether it will be H.R. 3283 or something like S.1107, or something in between, is unclear. The debate in the House over the program's future currently appears to be wide open.