Why You Should Boycott the New National Recreation Fee Demonstration Program

by Scott Silver

The Forest Service's new "Recreation Fee Demonstration Program," now being introduced nationwide, is a prime example of what can be expected from unholy partnerships involving big business and federal government. This particular program, requiring trail-users to pay three dollars a day, or $25 a year, to access wilderness areas and other public lands represents the thin edge of a very thick wedge. Driving this wedge deep into national recreation policy are foreign and domestic recreation corporations and their wise-use supporters.

Perhaps the most important player in this arena is the ubiquitous, but little known, American Recreation Coalition (ARC). This business consortium has literally taken control of America's recreational policies. ARC seeks to motorize, privatize and commercialize all of America's public lands for the benefit of its corporate and wise-use supporters. While you may not have heard of ARC, it has already established footholds everywhere: from the chief-of-staff serving the new Forest Service chief, to the advisory board of the Congressionally-created National Forest Foundation. The recreation fee program itself is a special kind of joint venture, known as a Challenge Cost-Share Partnership (CCSP), involving ARC and various branches of the US government. ARC is helping foot the bill for the program's implementation.

In recent years, federal recreation land managers have had to endure severe funding cuts. These cuts were not made in order to eliminate government waste or to reduce the federal deficit, as the public has been led to believe. These cuts are part of a carefully orchestrated strategy by sympathetic congresspeople working hand-in-glove with the wise-use movement-a strategy calculated to co-opt public lands for corporate profit and to guarantee "motorized recreational access" without future restrictions. The American public will be seeing many more Challenge Cost-Share Partnerships in the future unless public funding can somehow be restored for maintenance of our national parks and public lands. While a few of these CCSPs may address real needs, monetary profit will be the sole motivation of many corporate sponsors of these programs.

Much of America's worst recreation legislation is being crafted by the staunchly anti-environmental Senator Frank Murkowski (R-AK). According to the American Land Rights Association, a rabid wise-use organization, "Derrick Crandall, President of the American Recreation Coalition is leading an effort for a new Recreation 'Super-Bill.' He is lobbying Senator Frank Murkowski (R-AK) toward including his recreation wish list in a bill Murkowski is considering...."

ARC represents more than 100 industry organizations. Included on its member list are dozens of motor boat, jet-ski, RV, motorcycle, off-road vehicle and snowmobile manufacturers and associations. The remainder of the coalition represents a diverse range of interests: ski area associations, public lands concessionaires, campground associations, sporting equipment manufacturers, tour associations, petroleum companies, the National Rifle Association and the Walt Disney Company. Not one hiking, backpacking or environmental organization is included on this list (though there are some pretenders).

At last year's Western States Coalition's Summit, ARC participated on a panel moderated by People for the West president and wise-use leader, Bob Quick. The panel sought to answer the question "Are domestic natural resources important anymore?" This panel concluded "that although outright wins are unlikely, lobbying can define the issues favorably." The alternative, they said, is to let Vice President Al Gore and others set the agenda for the environment.

ARC has positioned itself perfectly for the task of "defining issues." Through its Recreation Roundtable, ARC provides "landmark research... on recreation motivations, satisfactions and barriers which is now shaping federal agency decision-making and is likely to prompt new, cooperative research on public recreation wants between the public and private sectors." And, on Michael Dombeck's first day as chief of the US Forest Service, he proudly declared, "Francis Pandolfi will serve as my chief of staff. Mr. Pandolfi comes with very broad experience... including [serving as] chairman of the Recreation Roundtable."

Perhaps ARC's greatest influence upon the future of recreation will be through its advisory position on the National Forest Foundation (NFF). As the official nonprofit partner of the US Forest Service, NFF attracts corporate sponsors, other foundations and individuals with the incentive of matching funds from Congress. In addition, NFF solicits funds from the private sector to match the challenge cost-share program of the US Forest Service. The Forest Service is prohibited by law from soliciting outside funding and NFF is expressly permitted to fulfill that function. It's a truly amazing loophole-a government-sanctioned private foundation, set up by Congress to do for the Forest Service what the Forest Service itself may not do legally-attract corporate sponsors and partners. The NFF represents big business and extractive industries. NFF's chair is a merchant banker, its vice-chair a petroleum executive and its secretary a cattle rancher. ARC president Derrick Crandall sits on NFF's national advisory board.

The ARC Recreation Roundtable's priorities include opposing proposals for a federal tax on motorized recreation products to support state wildlife programs. Consistent with this policy, the Fee Demonstration Program targets only hikers, picnickers, stream fishers and similar non-motorized recreationists.

ARC's efforts include explaining the fee program to the recreation industry and recreation enthusiasts, as well as assisting in the evaluation of the demonstration projects. Yet the slick pamphlets on the program available at Forest Service offices make no mention of ARC, and the comment forms ask you only how fees should be spent, not whether or not there should be any fees at all.

ARC has positioned itself perfectly. In financing this demonstration fee program, ARC has bought the right to evaluate the program upon its termination and then to report to Congress on how the public liked it. ARC, in exchange for its financial contribution, also gets to assist Congress in crafting the Permanent Recreation Fee System which will certainly follow.

Who cares what ARC tells Congress, you might ask? If you're a backcountry hiker, bird-watcher, fisher or even just a picnicker who enjoys the unspoiled outdoors as a place to escape from the world of corporate-driven commercialism and consumerism, then you had better take serious note of what ARC envisions for the future of recreation on America's public lands. The most complete source for information on ARC's interests is ARC's own website, www.cais.com/arc/.

ARC also has proposed that Congress create a National Recreation Lakes Program, which would emphasize "appropriate private sector investment in water-dependent recreational enterprises." Its plan envisions no restrictions on motorized watercraft, no federal control of lake fisheries, privatization of public property, land-use planning exemptions, corporate tax breaks and control of surrounding lands for other motorized uses. ARC has generated many similar policy statements and proposals, covering the entire range of recreational settings and experiences.

As the Executive Director of Wild Wilderness, a group whose mission is "to maintain and enhance opportunities for undeveloped recreation," I have a problem with American Recreation Coalition and its agenda. For this reason I have chosen to engage in a bit of civil disobedience and boycott the Recreation Fee Demonstration Program. To encourage others who might wish to follow suit, Wild Wilderness has produced windshield stickers that trailhead users can display instead of those available from ARC and its government partners. The Wild Wilderness sticker consists of a circle and slash symbol on which is written the words "Trail Fee." We don't guarantee that you won't be ticketed for your disobedience, but if enough people protest this fee, we might make a difference. It is up to the public to put a stop to further privatization of our National Heritage. Once it's sold, it's gone forever. Let's stop ARC and its accomplices before it's too late. Please boycott this program.

Scott Silver is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Wild Wilderness. Located in Bend, Oregon, Wild Wilderness has fought in support of "undeveloped recreation" since 1991. Windshield stickers can be obtained by sending a self-addressed stamped envelope to Wild Wilderness, 248 NW Wilmington Avenue, Bend, OR 97701.

NOTE: You could reproduce a life-size rendering of the Forest Service's one-day hiking fee sticker. To park legally within half a mile of any trailhead in participating forests, you have to fill out the date you are using it on (it's good from midnight to midnight, so if you're camping out you need two), peel off the adhesive tape and stick that baby on the lower left corner of your vehicle's windshield. Spiffy, don't ya think? Anyway, don't try cutting it out and making copies just to mess with the Freddies. That would be wrong and illegal and would get us all in trouble. Just pay up, take your hike and consider it money well spent next time you're on a logging road and get run over by some dumbass on an ATV.