The Bureau of Land Management is seeking
public comments about the fee program at
Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area
Dear Public Lands Supporter Rich & Mary
Lou Vaughn,
The BLM has issued a
notice
that there will be a public meeting
about the fee program at Imperial Sand
Dunes Recreation Area NEXT WEEK,
November 3, 2011.
You have only until November 2nd
- that's this coming Wednesday! -
to get your comments into the hands of
the Desert Advisory Council before they
decide what changes to recommend to the
fee program.
PLEASE ACT TODAY!
STOP THIS ILLEGAL ENTRANCE FEE!
BACKGROUND:
The Bureau of Land Management began
charging fees at
Imperial
Sand Dunes Recreation Area under
Fee Demo. That law allowed broad
authority for any kind of fee and BLM
used their authority to charge an
Entrance Fee at ISDRA. It was completely
legal, but the concept of Entrance Fees
for large tracts of BLM and National
Forest land proved to be very unpopular
with the public.
Congress heard the public outcry, and
when they repealed Fee Demo in 2004 and
replaced it with the Federal Lands
Recreation Enhancement Act they included
many restrictions on what kind of fees
could be charged. One of these
restrictions is that BLM is
prohibited from charging Entrance Fees.
At the Dunes,
however, nothing changed. The Entrance
Fee continues as before, except now they
call it a Special Recreation Permit Fee.
It was still required for all
entrance to the area for any purpose.
As the man said, if it walks like an
Entrance Fee and quacks like an Entrance
Fee, it's an Entrance Fee. Period.
BLM requested an increase in the ISDRA
Entrance Fee in January 2008. The
California Recreation Resource Advisory
Committee, after a sham review, gave the
increase their usual rubber-stamp
approval.
But BLM was not satisfied. In May 2009,
they were back asking for another
increase. They did not consult with or
inform the users of the Dunes or their
own Advisory Councils. They gave the
public no notification or only 15 days
notice to comment at all. When frequent
dunes visitors got wind of this new
increase they raised hell and BLM was
forced to withdraw their proposal.
Since that wake-up call, BLM has been
working with a citizen advisory council
to address the problems with this fee
program. The Desert
Advisory Council is a
dedicated volunteer panel that really
wants to hear from the public about the
fee program at Imperial Dunes. They will
hold a
public
meeting on Thursday,
November 3, 2011 and they want YOUR
input. Based on what they hear, they
will be making recommendations to the
BLM about changes to the Imperial Sand
Dunes fees.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
If you cannot attend the meeting in
person, send a short email comment
protesting this illegal entrance fee.
While fees are authorized for
specialized recreation use, they
should be only for specialized use, not
for entrance. Here is some suggested
language; please put this into your own
words and add your own personal
comments:
Dear Ms Goodro,
Please enter the following comment into
the record for the Desert Advisory
Council meeting on November 3, 2011 and
ensure that each member of the Council
receives a copy of it.
I object to the fee that is currently
being charged for all entry to the
Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area. The
fee amounts to an Entrance Fee, which is
prohibited by law. Any permit fee
requirement should apply only to a
specialized vehicle that is actually
using the area, not to the truck
that carried it there or to others who
only want to visit and view the unique
geography of the area.
The Western Slope No-Fee Coalition is a
broad-based organization consisting of
diverse interests including hiking,
biking, boating, equestrian and
motorized enthusiasts, community groups,
local and state elected officials,
conservatives and liberals, Republicans
and Democrats, and just plain citizens.
Our goals are:
To eliminate recreation fees for
general access to public lands
managed by the Forest Service
and Bureau of Land Management
To eliminate backcountry fees
and interpretive program fees in
National Parks, once an Entrance
Fee has been paid
To require more accountability
within the land management
agencies
To encourage Congress to
adequately fund our public lands
