On Tuesday, May 18th, The Ojai Democratic Club
held a historic event in Ojai. Alasdair Coyne of the Keep the Sespe Wild
Committee, Greg Kappos of Free Our Forests, Los Padres Forest Service Supervisor
Jeanine Derby, and other Forest Service personnel took part in a moderated public
forum. The forum marks the first time that the Forest Service has attended such a
public debate on the program anywhere in the nation.
The Forest Service explained their position of being strapped for cash and being responsible for implementing the laws as passed by Congress. They also generally expressed their frustration with the "conspiracy theory" promoted by Free Our Forests and other groups, that the recreation industry is using the Recreational Fee Demonstration Program (Fee Demo) as the beginning of an effort to allow recreation corporations to become big business on public lands. Supervisor Jeanine Derby answering a question about Disney's involvement in Fee Demo said: "Disney is only involved from the standpoint of helping the Forest Service make a transition into understanding what recreation is all about." We all know what recreation is all about in the eyes of Disney: profit, profit, and more profit. If profiting off of the public is what the Forest Service has in mind for Fee Demo, then one might ask: do we need to turn the Forest Service into another IRS?
The position and statements made by Free Our Forests can be found throughout this website. Alasdair Coyne of Keep the Sespe Wild outlined the documentation of the American Recreation Coalition and other recreation industry involvement in moving public lands away from the public trust and towards a concessioned pay-to-play system.
Supervisor Jeanine Derby made some other particularly notable statements which shed light on the mentality of the Forest Service's responsiveness to citizens:
"Think of how many years recreation has been totally subsidized by the federal government. Nobody, no public member, has ever paid anything...I have no control over what Congress does with my tax dollars. In this program you have the opportunity to pay locally and you have a voice in what the money is used for."Supervisor Derby is seemingly unaware that her tax dollars are the very same "subsidies" provided to our public lands by the federal government. She also seems not to recognize that her right to elect Congress and write to them with grievances once elected has been the means of having a voice in government since the founding of this country.
The Kern County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0
(one Supervisor was not present) on Tuesday, May 18th, to approve a letter
written by Ken Peterson, Supervisor of the Frazier Park area. The letter requested
the restoration of proper resources to public lands maintenance funds. Copies of
the letter were sent to the President, Vice President, Congressional
Representatives of Kern County, and California's Senators Boxer and Feinstein.
The letter reads as follows:
"The Kern County Board Supervisors is requesting your support to restore needed forest recreation maintenance funds to the Forest Service budget.
Two years ago, the Los Padres National Forest was one of several test areas in Southern California for the Adventure Pass program. The $5 per day or $30 per year fee is required per vehicle for those who wish to recreate within the National Forest. With the implementation of this fee, we are concerned that some residents may be deterred frmo visiting and enjoying our national forest.
While the original intent of the Adventure Pass program was to generate revenue to maintain recreational facilities and enhance visitor services, it has garnered strong criticism from Forest users. Our preference is for you and the Congress to provide the required funding in order that user fees are not necessary, and fees such as the Adventure Pass can be eliminated."