Date:         Sat, 21 Jul 2007 05:45:15 -0700
Reply-To:     Don Hanson <dhanson@GORGE.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Don Hanson <dhanson@GORGE.NET>
Subject:      Camping..slight rant without V-C
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Here in the Northwest, in the past few years, an alarming government
practice has begun.  The states have started double charging for public land
camping by requiring what they call a "Forest Pass" and in Oregon, they've
begun snarfing-up unimproved sites and calling them State Parks Permit
areas..Washington has what they call a Recreation pass, or some such..(I
ignore that)
   I do really enjoy and certainly don't begrudge a user fee for our Forest
Service campgrounds.  I really appreciate how lucky we are in the US to have
facilities like those.  But paying a fee to park in a Clear-Cut to go pick
some huckleberries or take a mountain bike ride through the 'slash"..not!
  So you go into the national forest and  find a proliferation of sites that
are now designated 'Forest Use permit required' where they've done nothing
but block off and sign-off all the surrounding forest and road access so you
are forced into the "fee-parking area" .If you don't have a $40 annual
sticker on your VW, you get a ticket..That's about what you get for your
forty bucks....nothing if you pay, a citation if you don't..
...The way I've got it figured, the national forest we are already charged
for,  in our federal taxes.  So these newer state fees are redundant.  I see
no improvements being done, other than new Law Enforcement(parking
attendants?) trucks and uniformed "rangers" to collect the fees.  Signs to
tell you "You Must Pay" and in some cases, miles of "No Parking" signs to
make sure you can only park in the Fee Area...
  Kinda pisses me off when our government does stuff like that, and nobody
really says much.."Geeze, it IS the government, they must have the right"
And the Forest Law that I have asked about  it, they say stuff like.."Hey,
we use the fee to improve your forest experience..."  Right...I just love
being in the back country and being confronted by a law man in a flat hat
driving a truck I bought, telling me I can't park there without a permit..
Big "Improvement"
  Rant over..
  Don Hanson