How much should we pay to play in the great outdoors?
More than we do now, say government auditors. A report by the
federal General Accounting Office finds that the Forest Service
loses millions of dollars each year by not charging enough to
private and commercial recreationists. Investigators say the
outdated permit fees charged to ski areas, commercial hunting
guides and rafting companies don’t even cover the cost of
processing. Church and other groups are also undercharged, they
found, and if the Forest Service figured current land values into
its 30-year-old pricing system, the fee to use a recreational lot
in a national forest could triple. For a free copy of Fees for
Recreation Special-Use Permits Do Not Reflect Fair Market Value
call 202/512-6000 or write U.S. General Accounting Office, P.O. Box
6015, Gaithersburg, MD
20884-6015.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline No more cheap thrills.
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