Dear HCN,
I have studied the Fee
Demo program thoroughly as well as kept myself well-informed since
its inception (HCN, 9/10/01: Congress may agree on fees). I am
president of Seniors Outdoors!,
a very active
club of 430 members; we use the
trails and parks
for recreation at least three
times a week year
round for hiking, biking, llama trekking, snowshoeing,
cross-country skiing and camping. I also belong to 4 Corners
Backcountry Horsemen, Trails 2000 and San Juan Mountain
Association. All of these organizations build,
repair and maintain trails,… with hundreds of
volunteers.
Trail users are
generally very responsible in their use of natural resources. Many
of us use the outdoors for free recreation since we can’t afford
and don’t like commercial encroachment into pristine natural
environments. Charging fees for the use of public land is unethical
and excludes the
poor from an important
resource.
Please, become informed of the real
reason
why this program was created. …There is
a hidden agenda. … I solicit your support in putting a permanent
stop to the fee demo program and returning our taxes to the funding
of the Forest Service,
BLM and DOW….
Please give your generous support to free
public lands. There are better ways to maintain
these lands, and plenty of volunteers are available.
Dell
Manners
Durango, Colorad
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Fees cut people out of public lands.
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