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Show If We Want No Fees, We Must Speak Up! ; Most people in our communi-' communi-' - ty are probably not aware that there is a plan underway to implement user fees in the Grand-Staircase Escalante '. National Monument. I would like to share what I know about ; this proposal and why this is not a good idea, and encourage people peo-ple to oppose any new access or ; user fees on the GSENM. This issue affects all of us as public lands users whether we prefer to hike, ride ATVs, camp with our families, ride horses, backpack or whatever each of us most likes to do. Right now, Monument man- . agers are considering implementing imple-menting fees for overnight camping in the Monument. It has been proposed that these fees may go into effect as early as April, and as far as I know there is no plan for public input or comment. There can't possibly possi-bly be enough time for a public ! process if an April deadline is ' .' planned. These new fees are proposed under what is called the ''Fee ' Demo" program. Fee Demo went into effect on public lands in 1996 (as a "rider" on an appropriations bill, for that matter) mat-ter) and was authorized as a temporary, three-year program. This is a very different kind of program than the one that allows for fees in National Parks and at Forest Service campgrounds. Authorization for those fees was established in the 1960s, and we've (more or less) been accustomed to fees for Park entry and for developed campgrounds camp-grounds on public lands for many years. The Fee Demo program is especially bad because user fees can be established by administrative adminis-trative measures without public input. As of this coming Apr. 6, the penalty for not paying your fee in a Fee Demo area please note that the penalty component is already in place for all programs that exist on any BLM lands is going to be raised from $100 to $5,000 That's right. If for whatever reason rea-son you don't pay your $5 access fee for your preferred activity (or whatever price for whatever use the Monument decides), the penalty is Five Grand. Not only does this completely complete-ly change the way both we in our local communities and other Americans enjoy our public lands, studies have shown that Fee Demo programs that are already in effect in other places do not make good economic sense. A review of these fees has shown that enforcing these programs pro-grams generally costs at least 50 percent of what it costs to run the program itself. In a lot of cases they don't make any money at all. This information comes from a General Accounting Office audit of Fee Demo programs on Forest Service lands. What this means is that we as taxpayers are subsidizing subsi-dizing a program that is charging charg-ing us fees. . I'd like to share with you some statements that Monument Letters To The Editor From Page 2 A Manager Dave Hunsaker has made in writing to an individual (not myself) who requested information about any plans for Fee Demo programs in the Monument. I will quote Mr. Hunsaker's letter directly. The letter is dated Dec. 8, 2003: "GSENM is considering con-sidering expanding its fee program pro-gram and will seek public input prior to design and implementation implementa-tion of any changes." And, "One idea is to institute a Monument-wide Monument-wide fee for overnight camping (hiking and car camping)." So, Mr. Hunsaker, please tell us: What's really going on? And is a real public process going to take place? From what I understand, at a minimum, Monument staff are already designing a plan and they're doing it without public input. Many of us have family members and friends who work for the Monument. A lot of these folks may be in support of fee programs because they see their own programs as being strapped for cash, which makes it difficult diffi-cult to do their jobs. The solution solu-tion is this: Get rid of the piecemeal piece-meal Fee Demo programs which are essentially a double tax on visitors and completely alters our experience of being out there and force Congress to adequately fund public lands management. All current indicators indica-tors are that it will cost less in the long run. There is currently underway a national effort to kill the Fee Demoprogram altogether alto-gether on all BLM, Forest Service and Fish & Wildlife Service lands. Just last week, all 23 members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted UNANIMOUSLY UNANI-MOUSLY to stop a proposal by Interior Secretary Gale Norton to make Fee Demo a permanent program on BLM, FS & FWS lands. Each committee member received hundreds of calls and faxes from around the country asking them to stop this. There is a lot of momentum against public lands user fees, and Garfield County residents have an opportunity to join with a lot of other communities like ours around the West to stop this not just on the Monument, but altogether. Please remember that whatever what-ever Monument managers say they are going to propose, that a fee for one group of users today will most likely lead to more fees for other groups of users further down the road. If you are concerned about this, please speak up. I encourage our County Commissioners, City Councils, and local recreation clubs to discuss this important issue and consider resolutions and letters in opposition to fees on the Monument under Fee Demo. Erica Walz Escalante |
