Forest Service day-use fees challenged by Lawsuit – SummitCountyVoice.com
Colorado sites could be affected by the outcome of the court case. Fees charged at day use areas like Pine Cove, in Summit County, Colorado, are being challenged in court by public land advocates.
By Bob Berwyn
SUMMIT COUNTY — After chipping away at unauthorized fees in places like Mt. Evansand backcountry trail heads, public lands activists are challenging the Forest Service’s use of private campground operators as proxies to charge fees where federal law may bar the agency from collecting them.
A new lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. could end the widespread practice of charging fees at day-use areas via concessionaires who manage nearby campgrounds.
The lawsuit identifies five specific sites, including Bagby Hot Springs and Big Eddy day use sites on the Mt. Hood National Forest in Oregon, Rose Canyon Lake on the Coronado National Forest in Arizona, Second Crossing on the Tonto National Forest in Arizona, Walton Lake on the Ochoco National Forest in Oregon, and Rampart Reservoir on the Pike National Forest in Colorado.
“These recreation facilities are located on federal land and were built with taxpayer dollars. The Forest Service can’t just declare them exempt from federal law by hiring private contractors to run them. It’s a backdoor route to the privatization of our public lands and an outrageous disregard of congressional direction,” said Olivia Schmidt, program director at BARK, an Oregon group watch-dogging… to read more click here
PHOTO CREDITS: Summit County Citizens Voice
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