New gate fees charged in national parks and other
federal recreation areas raise money without turning away visitors,
according to a recent General Accounting Office report. But the
report was based only on the comments of people at trailheads who
were willing to fill out cards; those not bothering to respond or
who protested by staying home had no voice. Critics of the new fees
say that has skewed the results. “They aren’t soliciting input so
that people unhappy with the program can be heard,” says Scott
Silver, who directs Wild Wilderness in Bend, Ore. GAO auditor Ned
Woodward admits, “There hasn’t been a lot of research done on
visitation by low-income groups and backcountry users.” For a copy
of the 41-page Recreation Fee Demonstration Program: Progress
Report to Congress, write the General Accounting Office,
Washington, DC 20548-0001, 202/512-6000 or look at the Web site,
www.gao.gov.
*Rebecca
Clarren
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline User fee critics contest report.
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