[big_load]

I saw a news article Sunday that announced removal of fees from some areas. It listed the number of affected areas by state, but did not list speciific areas. The number for AZ was 14. Does anyone know which they are?

I don't mind paying for use, but I hate collection machines that don't work, and there seem to be a lot in that category.

[joe bartels]

that's a good question I don't have a clue to the answer

here's the article
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... es-ON.html

here's old fee topics since I just realized google isn't working on the forum pages
Feb 6th 2004 Take Action against Fee Demo !!!

Feb 3rd 2004 Fee Demo enforcment gone bad

Feb 2nd 2004 Tonto fees make unhappy campers (AZ Republic; Feb....

Jan 26th 2004 Tonto NF Parking Fee

Mar 25th 2003 camping fee: have you voiced your opinion?

Mar 4th 2003 Prohibitive camping fee!

[Lizard]

Well, at the end of the article is a link to an excel file that lists the sites that have had fees removed. For Arizona, the sites listed are:

Coronado National Forest
Snow Flat
Treasure Park
Aspen Vista
Babad Do'ag
Geology Vista
Lizard Rock, Dev. Disp. Camp
Molino Canyon Overlook
San Pedro Vista
Seven Cataracts Vista
Thimble Peak Vista
Windy Point

Prescott National Forest
Groom Creek Trailhead
Lynx Creek Gold Pan
Mingus Summit/Rest Area

[big_load]

Thanks, guys.

It looks like AZ got a raw deal. Other states had a lot more trailheads and campgrounds taken off fee.

[joe bartels]

thanks lizard

here's the FS release
http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/coronado/forest ... 102005.pdf

I'll update Seven Cataracts and Groom Creek pages

[big_load]

Thanks, guys. It looks like AZ got a raw deal. Other states had more trailhead and campground fees lifted.

[hikeaz]

In response to big_load's reply:

When the Permanent Fee Demo was rammed through by the Senate last fall, one of the criteria for collecting use fees is that the area have "improvements". Specifically, these are parking lots, rest rooms and picnic facilities (as well as signs & the like).
You can bet that this is/was no gift, and that if the USFS, etc. could ( by having installed these improvements) charge for using their areas, WE'D be paying... and HOW. they are, as we speak, planning major upgrades to myriad areas for this express purpose.

There are more fees to come, as well...

See pages 8,9
http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/program ... elines.pdf

The real "fly-in-the-ointment" is the ambiguous "High Impact Recreation Area" or HIRA, whereby the feds can skirt the aforementioned requirement to have a host of improvements prior to charging a fee, and again ram-through a fee for an area that fails the "amenity test".
A perfect example would be Sedona, the illustrious Home of the Red Rock Pass.
The road leading to trailheads out on 525C (Dogie, Casner T/H) are barely passable after a rain and the trailheads themselves have zero amenities, but yet the USFS collects a fee for this T/H. Another inequity that comes to mind is that if you hike DOWN West Fork from Woody Mountain there is no fee; however if you hike UP from the parking lot on 89A (rest rooms/kiosks, etc. included) there is a +/- $5.00 fee.
So are we paying for use of the forest or convienent access?
Maybe parking meters and pay toilets are the answer....

I'm climbing down off of my box now...........

kurt