THIS MESSAGE CONTAINS IMPORTANT USER-FEE NEWS !

On October 8th, 2003 seven East-Coast Republican Congressmen lead by Ralph Regula (R-OH) introduced the Bush Administration's long-awaited legislation to permanently authorized the "Recreation Fee Demonstration Program". This is horrible legislation that will affect all Americans and forever change the purposes for which public land recreation is managed. HR 3283 represents the culmination of a 20 years effort by a powerful element of the recreation industry to commodify, privatize and commercialize outdoor recreation on America's public lands. See... http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/105cong/parks/98feb26/crandall.htm

to read relevant Congressional Testimony.) HR 3283 proposes the creation of an outdoor recreation "Passport" that would be required by all Americans for access to federal lands. The passport would be called by the name given to it a dozen years ago when it was first proposed by the American Recreation Coalition and George Bush Senior -- the "America the Beautiful".

The bad news is that HR 3283 was introduced at all. The good news is that there is little chance of this legislation being acted upon in the remaining weeks of the current legislative session. Unfortunately, the possibility remains that Mr. Regula would insert this language into other 'must-pass' legislation as he did in 1996. The threat of HR 3283 must not be ignored. The curious news is that Mr. Regula should dare introduce legislation that will generate as much negative reaction as HR 3283 or that he would introduce legislation containing as many illegal elements as are contained within HR 3283. HR 3283, if passed, would...

1)..make fee-demo permanent for 5 federal agencies.... adding the Bureau of Reclamation to the agencies already covered by fee-demo.

2)..create three levels of outdoor user fees. In addition to the "Basic Recreation Fee" there'd be new "Expanded Recreation Fee" and "Special Recreation Permit Fee" categories.

3)..permit the issuance of an "America the Beautiful" Pass/Passport which "will be accepted by one of more Federal land management agencies or by one or more governmental or nongovernmental entities..."

4).. make it virtually impossible to maintain the direct connection between the fee paid and the service received. These user fees would become a regressive user-tax paid by anyone wishing to visit public lands.

5).. authorize "volunteers" to collect recreation fees and sell recreation passes. Volunteers would be compensated for their work by being issued a pass "in exchange for significant volunteer services performed." America's minimum wage laws would be thrown out the window as underpaid volunteers are used to replace agency staffers. This section of the legislation, like the related "Take Pride in America" initiative, is a key component in President Bush's federal jobs "outsourcing" program.

6)..criminalize failure to pay. Currently failure to pay a recreation fee is an infraction, like a parking ticket. HR 3283 would make it a crime publishable by a maximum penalty of $5000 and 6 months in jail (the maximum for a Class B misdemeanor).

7)..throw out the Constitution’s protection of "presumed innocence until proven guilty". The owner of a vehicle illegally parked on public land would become jointly liable. Unless that person could prove that his vehicle was used without his express or implied permission, he would be issued a ticket and charged with a criminal offense. Likewise, persons who fail to properly display a pass (even though one might have been purchased) will be required to prove their innocence within a given time period or be subject to criminal prosecution.

8)..repeals the section of the Land Water Conservation Act that has for nearly 40 years severely constrained the number and type of recreation fees that could legally be charged upon public lands.

9)..repeals the Golden Age, Golden Access and Golden Eagle passes. It used to be that if you were 62 years of age you could purchase for $10 a life-time pass good for admittance into all National Parks.

If HR 3283 becomes law, the cost could easily jump to $100 per year and increase in price with every passing year. 10) ... authorize a minimum of ONE free day each year when all Americans will be permitted "Basic Access" to their public lands. Even on that day, expanded and special fees will apply. ... and finally, if HR 3283 is passed into law it would make the recreation industry a full partner in the development of this recreation fee program. HR 3283 reads: "The Secretaries may jointly enter into cooperative agreements with governmental and nongovernmental entities for the development and implementation of the National Parks and Federal Recreation Lands Pass Program."

HR 3283 is one of several important things happening with respect to fee-demo. Some are good, some are bad. If you do not want to be forced to purchase and carry a passport next time you visit your public lands, I recommend you contact your Congressman and Senators without delay.

HR 3283 can be read on online at: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c108:HR3283: To get an understanding of the linkage between HR 3283 and the special personal relationships that made this legislation (and the recently revived, and not-to-be ignored, "Take Pride in America" initiative) possible, read this http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/papers/1992/92051400.html 1992 speech available on the Bush Library website. To learn more, see www.wildwilderness.org/docs/add.htm Additional suggestions for action are available at www.wildwilderness.org/docs/options.htm