As a fellow Unitarian Universalist, I am puzzled and
dismayed by Chris Wallace’s shortsighted and selfish attitude
toward paying fees to use nearby U.S. Forest Service lands (HCN,
11/27/06). It seems to me that the no-fee movement is akin to the
property-rights movement, as in “I own this land and I can do with
it whatever I want, including trashing it for other users and
future generations.”
Sure, we’re all owners by
virtue of the income taxes we pay to the federal government. But we
all also “own” the national parks, too, and we pay to get into
them. Where I live, I also pay to visit state and county parks, in
addition to paying my state and local taxes. The only lands I
don’t pay extra to use are city and county open spaces, which
both have dedicated funding sources.
Living as close as I
do to so many wonderful public lands, I feel I have a special
obligation to contribute an extra amount because I use them so
much. Don’t think of it as paying the Forest Service. Think
of it as doing right by all the other “owners” of this land —
as well as future generations — by doing your part to keep
the area open to the public and in good condition. Think of it as
showing respect for the interdependent web of existence of which
we’re all a part.
Linda
Knowlton
Fort Collins, Colorado
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Time for an attitude adjustment.
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