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Show Escalante City Condemns BLMGSENM Fee Proposals A proposal by the Bureau of Land Management to impose user fees for visitors to Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument has some residents of southern Utah steamed. BLM managers are considering consider-ing charging a fee under the Fee Demo program for car camping and overnight backpacking throughout the 1.9 million-acre national monument. Residents of nearby Escalante have tried to head off the fees by asking their city council to pass a resolution reso-lution opposing them. The reso lution passed unanimously on Mar. 2 and planning is underway under-way to ask for resolutions from additional towns and surrounding surround-ing county governments. The Escalante resolution notes that local residents subsidize subsi-dize the operation of the monument monu-ment by volunteering for search and rescue, ambulance, fire protection pro-tection and law enforcement services. It goes on to say that "User fees would impose a disproportionate dis-proportionate cost to local citizens citi-zens in light of the contributions and sacrifices they already make." The resolution also says, "While these fees may initially be limited in scope, they will inevitably be increased and expanded throughout the monument monu-ment as a further means of restricting use of these public lands." The Escalante City Council also called for an end of the Recreational Fee Demonstration Program (Fee Demo), under which the fees would be authorized. author-ized. Fee Demo, originally a (See RESOLUTION on pg. 3) ' Escalante Resolution From Front Page two-year test program, is now in its eighth year. It was supposed to test Americans' willingness to "pay to play" for recreational activities historically funded by congressional appropriations. Opponents charge Fee Demo with being a form of double taxation, tax-ation, and with reducing accountability by land managers. man-agers. They also point out that the demonstration is not a true test of support, since failure to pay results in a criminal citation. In December, 2003, Monument Manager Dave Hunsaker wrote that "Public input will be sought prior to the design and implementation of any fee system." Despite that, Visitor Services Manager Barbara Sharrow has reportedly vowed to have a fee program in place before she leaves in April for a new posting in Montrose, Colorado. "Monument managers have appointed a citizens advisory committee and promised that it will have input on any fee decision," deci-sion," said Escalante resident and fee opponent Erica Walz. "But the first committee meeting meet-ing is not until Apr. 19, and it sounds like the fees will already be in place before then. This is a very controversial topic and deserves a full public input process. It shouldn't be forced down our throats." In Colorado, the Western Slope No-Fee Coalition hailed the Escalante resolution as a milestone in the effort to end Fee Demo. "With this resolution, resolu-tion, we welcome Utah to the growing list of states with residents resi-dents who are actively working to keep the 'public' in public lands," said WSNFC spokesperson spokesper-son Kitty Benzar. "Four state legislatures and dozens of town and county governments are on record opposing Fee Demo. We are optimistic that Congress will hear the voice of the people and end this misguided program soon." The WSNFC is a broad-based group with members in 35 states that is working to end the Recreational Fee Demonstration Program (Fee Demo) in the Forest Service, BLM, and Fish & Wildlife Service. The Coalition assists local residents to obtain anti-Fee Demo resolutions resolu-tions from their elected officials as one way to encourage Congress to terminate the program. |