Dear HCN,
I’ve just finished
reading the articles about usage fees for hiking, camping,
climbing, etc., and I must admit, it’s one of those peculiar times
when I feel strongly both ways. My initial emotion is resentment. I
despise unnecessary regulation – signs, signs, everywhere a sign,
or a fee or a form. But I realize I am happy to pay for certain
things: for example, to preserve or restore the natural world, or
to prevent damage to it. Some
observations:
First, the public will always pay
for whatever costs are incurred. Saying that Congress should be the
source of the funding, rather than the users, doesn’t make sense.
Congress will get the money from the public. True, the “public” is
a larger group than just the “users,” but users benefit more, why
not have them pay more?
Second, I don’t think
there should be a fee for a resident to enter his or her local
natural environment. It doesn’t take a great mind to come up with a
system whereby individuals residing in the counties surrounding or
containing a forest, park, recreation area or monument could get a
pass. I wouldn’t extend that pass to the usage of facilities that
must be constructed and maintained (lavatories excepted) like
picnic grounds and camp sites. I’d just want to be sure that local
residents could take a walk in the woods, or a camping trip not
requiring services, for free.
Not every formally
designated area needs parking lots, toilets, access roads with
visitor centers, maintained trails, trailheads, and a myriad of
other costly services. We need another designation for protected
land; “wilderness’ is used, so let’s just call it “retired land.”
We “retire” roads; why not land? It would be important to keep
motorized traffic out except for emergency access, and yes, this
would result in some requirement to pay for policing. But this plus
the boundary marking would be just about the only necessary costs.
The land would be available, yet not managed. It might even heal.
What a concept!
Dave
Wicks
Colorado Springs,
Colorado
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Let locals in free.
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