HikeArizona.COM

You and I pay taxes for the maintenance, upkeep and access to public lands. The taxes we pay to the state and federal governments are supposed to be used to develop rescources in a fitting fashion so that they may be used by the public at large. Why then do we have to pay a nominal fee at the trailheads to park our vehicles? Is this not what the taxes we pay are for?
I recently read in the sierra club's newsletter that the fees are actually a program set up by the forest service to prove to the legislators that people are willing to pay extra to use their own land. Neither the forest service nor the legislature has the right to charge us for what we already paid for. I urge all of you out there to contact your representatives regarding this unfair practice. Please help keep our public lands free.

Thanks for the link. We actually read that article but stopped reading about two paragraphs before this one,

"In mid-April, the Golden Eagle Passport, a $65 pass, will be good at Forest Service sites in the Red Rock Ranger District."

Well, cool! That's at least one small step in the right direction. The $15 upgrade is good for a lot of things around America, too. We will watch this with renewed interest.

Thanks again,

J&S

PS--Here is the "official" NPS description of the Golden Eagle Pass

It's located at:

http://www.nps.gov/fees_passes.htm

"Golden Eagle
For an additional $15, a Golden Eagle hologram may be purchased and affixed to a National Parks Pass to cover entrance fees at not only national parks, but also at sites managed by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U. S. Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management. The Golden Eagle holograms are available at National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Land Management fee stations. The Golden Eagle admits the pass signee and any accompanying passengers in a private* vehicle if a park has a per vehicle entrance fee. Where a per person entrance fee is charged, the Golden Eagle admits the pass signee, spouse, children and parents. The Golden Eagle is nontransferable and does NOT cover or reduce use fees such as charges for camping, parking, tours, and concessions. It is valid for entrance fees only. The Golden Eagle hologram is valid until the expiration of the National Parks Pass to which it is affixed. "

80% of the NEW money stays with the parks. In the case of Grand Canyon ten of the twenty dollars you pay is new. So $8 stays in the park and $12 goes into the general fund just like your taxes. Popular parks like GC must share proceeds with smaller parks all over the country.

In addition to the entrance fees one must pay non-refundable backpacking fees. Let's take a young family of four that want to stay two nights in the canyon. They will pay $20 to get into the park. They will pay $10 to get a hiking permit and another $5 per person per night. That's $70. Add in the gas which is lots and you can see that young families can not afford to hike in Grand Canyon.

There is always ways around actualy paying for the fees! Always! Take it from me. I try and skip out on all unnecassary fees, always. Questions and for more detail on this one and what I really mean, just ask me on post or pm. :twisted: