More Fees Proposed For Use of Lands - PLEASE HELP!

[Guest KTMrad]

WESTERN SLOPE NO-FEE COALITIONP.O. Box 403, Norwood, CO 81423 June 28, 2004 ACTION ALERT:HOUSE RESOURCES COMMITTEE PREPARING PERMANENT FEE BILL FOR COMMITTEE VOTE!!YOUR AND YOUR ORGANIZATION'S INPUT NEEDED NOW!! PLEASE PHONE AND FAX THE COMMITTEE TODAY!!!!The House Resources Committee staff is right now preparing permanent fee legislation to be pushed through on a fast track for a Committee vote soon. It is imperative that Committee members hear loud and clear that the taxpaying public will not stand for a permanent fee system like Fee Demo for the BLM, Forest Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation, and the US Army Corps of Engineers. Indications are that this legislation will be closely modeled on HR 3283, introduced last October by Fee Demo's original architect Rep. Ralph Regula, (R-OH). That bill would require Americans to pay a fee, before they set foot or tire on any of 640 million acres of public lands. HR 3283 will create a new annual nationwide "America the Beautiful" pass, costing $85 or more, as well as multiple layers of fees. Basic fees will be levied for access to all Forest Service, BLM, US Fish & Wildlife Service and Bureau of Reclamation lands and lakes, not just for the Park Service lands. On top of these basic fees, expanded fees will be required for campgrounds and boat launches and special recreation permit fees will be needed for motorized recreation and for group activities. HR 3283 would eliminate the Golden Age Pass, currently available to senior citizens, that allows them a lifetime of entry into the National Parks and a 50% discount at campgrounds for a one-time charge of $10. Penalties for recreating without a pass will increase to a class B misdemeanor punishable by 6 months in jail and/or a $5,000 fine.HOW IN THE WORLD COULD SUCH AN EXTREME PROPOSAL EVER SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY?Unbelievably, Ralph Regula, a Republican from central Ohio who has NO public lands in his district, is actually proud to claim authorship of this shameful legislation, and he has strong Administration support in pushing it forward. Regula created the infamous Recreational Fee Demonstration Program (Fee Demo) in 1996, as a pilot program for the measures he has now written into HR3283. He's proud of that, too.This bill is an outrage and an insult to the American public that owns these lands and has paid taxes to maintain them, even through two World Wars and the Great Depression. Here in the West, where public land is over every hill and around every bend, we would need a pass to leave the city limits. Access fees to public lands are a regressive tax that puts the burden of public land management on the backs of rural Americans who live adjacent to or surrounded by land managed by the three agencies, and for whom they are an integral part of life. They are held in trust for the citizens of this nation and are maintained through our taxes. To mandate that those local residents carry a heavier tax burden of funding of our land management agencies is just wrong.PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR WHO TO CONTACT AND WHAT TO SAY! WE NEED BOTH CALLS AND FAXES TO DC THROUGH MID-JULY! BACKGROUNDThe Senate recently passed S. 1107, which calls for permanent recreation fees for only the National Parks and allows the program to expire for the BLM, Forest Service and US Fish and Wildlife Service. While the Senate action is a major victory for Fee Demo opponents, we are only halfway to our goal. We must now persuade the House Resources Committee to also pass legislation very similar to S. 1107!THE PUSH FOR HR 3283 HR 3283's author, Rep. Ralph Regula (R-OH), is in line to be chair of the House Appropriations Committee next year - a powerful position controlling all the money that Congress distributes. It is risky for Congressmen to oppose him on legislation he's introduced - such as HR 3283 - as Rep. Regula is in a position to retaliate later by restricting funds for programs supported by his opponents. The Administration was unable to get congressional sponsorship for HR3283 from any western Representative, so they have turned to this guy from Ohio to do their bidding. Rep. Regula is actively twisting arms on the House Resources Committee to try and get HR3283 passed, and he may succeed.It is a sad day when someone so hostile to rural and western values can rise to such a position of power in Washington that he actually might be able to make this happen. Our challenge is to show the House Resources Committee that the American people want an end to Fee Demo, regardless of Rep. Ralph Regula's wishes. It's a delicate situation for Committee members, and only strong pressure from across the nation will succeed. Let's help our Congressmen stand up to Regula. WHO TO CONTACT – PLEASE BOTH CALL AND FAXWe're starting by asking you to contact key Republican majority members of the House Resources Committee. The majority Committee members are the ones currently involved in preparing the permanent fee legislation. Later on, after the legislation is made public, we'll contact Democratic minority Committee members too. Please all contact Committee chair Richard Pombo and Congressman Regula - and as many of the others as you have time for. Please pick names from your state and then others at random (i.e. we don't want only the first listed names to get all the calls and faxes). Please try and contact all listed below. (Try faxes in the evening if fax lines are busy during office hours in D.C.)PLEASE MAKE CALLS AND FAXES NOW THROUGH MID JULY!Richard Pombo, CA, Phone: (202) 225-2761, Fax: (202) 225-5929 alternate Phone: (202) 225-1947; Fax: (202) 226-0861Ralph Regula, OH, Phone: (202) 225-3876, Fax: (202) 225-3059Elton Gallegly, CA, Phone: (202) 225-5811, Fax: (202) 225-1100Ken Calvert, CA, Phone: (202) 225-1986, Fax: (202) 225-2004Devin Nunes, CA, Phone: (202) 225-2523, Fax: (202) 225-3404Scott McInnis, CO, Phone: (202) 225-4761, Fax: (202) 226-0622Thomas Tancredo, CO, Phone: (202) 225-7882, Fax: (202) 226-4623Jeff Flake, AZ, Phone: (202) 225-2635, Fax: (202) 226-4386J.D. Hayworth, AZ, Phone: (202) 225-2190, Fax: (202) 225-3263Rick Renzi, AZ, Phone: (202) 225-2315, Fax: (202) 226-9739Wayne Gilchrest, MD, Phone: (202) 225-5311, Fax: (202) 225-0254Dennis Rehburg, MT, Phone: (202) 225-3211, Fax: (202) 225-5687 Walter Jones, NC, Phone: (202) 225-3415 Fax: (202) 225-3286 Tom Osborne, NE, Phone: (202) 225-6435, Fax: (202) 226-1385 Stevan Pearce, NM, Phone: (202) 225-2365, Fax: (202) 225-9599 Jim Gibbons, NV, Phone: (202) 225-6155. Fax: (202) 225-5679 Greg Walden, OR, Phone: (202) 225-6730, Fax: (202) 225-5774 John Duncan, TN, Phone: (202) 225-5435, Fax: (202) 225-6440 Rob Bishop, UT Phone: (202) 225-0453, Fax: (202) 225-5857Chris Cannon, UT, Phone: (202) 225-7751, Fax: (202) 225-5629Barbara Cubin, WY, Phone: (202) 225-2311, Fax: (202) 225-3057 WHAT TO SAY-->Please ask that permanent recreation fees be limited to National Parks, as in Senate bill S. 1107.State your opposition to recreation fees for Forest Service, BLM and US Fish & Wildlife Service sites.SAMPLE LETTER TO FAX--> (PLEASE VARY AND USE YOUR OWN WORDS! EXACT COPIES OF THIS SAMPLE LETTER WILL CARRY LESS WEIGHT!)--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Dear Congressman,I urge you to support adoption of S.1107, which would allow the Recreational Fee Demonstration Program (Fee Demo) to expire for the Forest Service, BLM, and Fish and Wildlife Service. The Senate passed S.1107 in May by unanimous consent and has sent it to the House for your consideration. It would allow only the National Park Service to continue to charge entrance fees and to use them within that agency without further appropriation. I urge you to oppose HR 3283, or any permanent Fee Demo type bill, which would force all Americans to buy a pass before they set foot or tire on any public lands. It would abolish the Golden Age Pass and make anyone caught on public land without a pass subject to criminal penalties. HR 3283 would destroy the American heritage of shared ownership and shared access to our .public lands. Access fees to use public lands are a double tax.Contrary to testimony by the Departments of Interior and Agriculture, Americans do know the difference between the National Parks and the vast tracts of undeveloped land managed by the Forest Service, BLM, and Fish and Wildlife Service. They do not want to see these lands developed with the same level of service and infrastructure found in National Parks, nor can we as a country afford that.The Park Service, which accounts for 80% of Fee Demo revenue, has a long history of charging entrance fees and their fees have not been controversial with the public. It is these new fees to access the large areas managed by the other agencies that have proven very unpopular, and which I oppose.I strongly urge you to end Fee Demo, or any similar program, for the Forest Service, BLM, and US Fish and Wildlife service.Sincerely,