Forest fees fight continues

SUMMIT COUNTY — With High County waterfalls thundering and the most promising crop of wildflowers in quite some time, Colorado’s outdoor enthusiasts are swarming the state’s peaks, trails and campgrounds.

But hikers, birdwatchers and four-wheelers will once again face a slate of charges when they venture onto national forest lands, the result of an ongoing political battle over recreation fees at trailheads, picnic areas and campgrounds.

Initially launched as the so-called recreation fee demonstration project nearly 10 years ago, public land access charges were made permanent last year under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA). But critics charge that Forest Service guidelines for implementing the act are illegal, and that the agency continues to charge fees in areas specifically excluded by the federal legislation.

Locally, the debate over access fees plays out in places such as Giberson Bay picnic and day use area, where the agency charges $7 per day, with a season pass available for $35. The area is well maintained, with toilets kept relatively clean even on busy Saturdays, and a handful of scenically set picnic tables.

A for-profit Texas company called Thousand Trails collects the fees. The company is the major campground concessionaire on the White River National Forest.

“I’m starting to expect fees,” said Chris Martel of Denver while gearing up for a float-fishing session Sunday morning. Martel said he has noticed a trend of increased fees becoming more widespread, not just on national forest land, but in state and even county parks.

“First you pay your fishing license, then you open your wallet again when you get to the lake,” he said, sounding mildly frustrated. “It’s inconvenient, first of all. And seven bucks? That does get your attention.”

Although he wasn’t excited about paying the fee, Martel said he understands there may be a need to collect fees to manage heavy use in some areas. But he said he wished the Forest Service did a better job of getting the information out, especially financial details about where the money goes.

“I don’t know if it really costs $7 per car to take care of this area, clean out the toilets, pick up trash,” he said.

Officials with Thousand Trails have previously said they can only afford to maintain day use areas if they charge a fee.

Mike Schaefer, also up from Denver with his son David for a day of fishing, said he accepts the fees philosophically because it’s worth it if the money goes toward resource preservation.

“When I was a kid, we drove up here and along the roads before the reservoir filled. It’s historic to me and it’s worth taking good care of,” he said.

Illegal fees?

Some people seem to grudgingly accept fees for areas like Giberson Bay, but they also realize that the charges will likely continue to spread.

“Where will it end?” said Martel.

Opponents of the fee program have said they will try to draw the line at fees for developed sites if they can’t roll back the fees entirely.

“The law says you can’t charge just to park and hike,” said Robert Funkhouser, president of the West Slope No Fee Coalition. “The Forest Service has no intention of complying with the law. In fact, they are openly ignoring the new law. They’re charging for sites that don’t meet the requirement of the law.”

Summit County impacts?

White River National Forest officials said the new law doesn’t affect any of its fee site; they all qualify under FLREA, according to spokeswoman Sue Froeschle.

In and around Summit County, those fee sites include the road up to Mount Evans in Clear Creek County, as well as a winter fee at Vail Pass, where the agency charges for parking at a Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) rest area.

It’s also not clear to Funkhouser if the fee at the Cataract Lake/Eagles Nest Wilderness trailhead is authorized under the act, which forbids fees for dispersed backcountry use. The area is managed in conjunction with camping facilities at nearby Green Mountain Reservoir.

According to Funkhouser, the law only allows fees at developed sites that offer a very specified set of amenities, including improved parking areas, permanent toilets, picnic tables, permanent trash containers, interpretive displays and security services.

Entrance fees for national forest and BLM lands are prohibited, as are fees just for driving through an area or for access to dispersed backcountry areas. The restrictions were intended to address some of the objections to the unlimited fees that were allowed under Fee Demo, which was due to expire at the end of 2005 and was becoming increasingly unpopular nationwide.

“Fees for trailhead parking are de facto backcountry use fees, and fees for roads are nothing but entrance fees in disguise,” said Kitty Benzar, co-founder of the Western Slope No-Fee Coalition. “The Forest Service is thwarting the intent of Congress and flouting the letter of the law.”

Recreation user fees will continue at the Maroon Bells Wilderness near Aspen, and for winter parking at Vail Pass by snowmobilers, skiers and snowshoers who access the backcountry from the CDOT parking area at the summit. Benzar and Funkhouser said those fees violate provisions that prohibit fees for backcountry use even if the trip originates from a developed trailhead, as long as the trailhead facilities are not used.

“There are over 300 former Fee Demo sites in the Rocky Mountain Region, including dirt pullouts used for trailhead parking, picnic areas with no trash service, state and county roads that pass through national forests, and dispersed camping areas with few or no services,” Benzar said. “We estimate that as many as half of the fees in Region 2 are not in compliance with the conditions listed in the act.”

The West Slope No Fee Coalition is asking public land users to help identify fee areas that don’t qualify. The group, together with similar organizations in other states, is using questionnaires to survey fee sites nationally and document which ones comply with the new law and which ones do not.

Survey information and questionnaires can be obtained from feesitesurvey@hotmail.com or by calling (970) 259-4616.