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Monthly
Column, "Thinking about Sedona"
Visiting national forests should
be free
by Paul Chevalier
Editorâs
Note: Chevalier is the Chairman of Sedonaâs Art and
Culture Commission. He is a retired Senior Executive of a
major retailer where he was responsible for law and personnel.
He holds a Degree in Government from Columbia College, a
Law Degree from Columbia Law School and Business Degrees
from both Columbia and Harvard Business Schools.
Red Rock Pass is the name of the Sedona portion
of a federal program that is confusingly titled ãRecreation
Fee Demonstration Program.ä
This program requires the Forest Service to collect
parking access fees in many of Americaâs national forests.
It was approved by the United States Congress in 1996, in
limited locations, for a two-year trial.
Since then, this program has been renewed to the present
day and its reach has been expanded into other forest areas,
including Sedona. The forest parking fee that is mandated
under this program, for most drivers in the Sedona area,
is $5 daily, $15 for seven days, and $20 for 12 months.
The Coconino Forest Service has stated that the
parking fees are needed to allow it to provide quality forest
management of the Red Rock Area. Our Forest Service points
out that only .00018 of a penny of the federal budget goes
to Forest Service recreation, heritage and wilderness programs.
I guess this is the Coconino Forest Serviceâs way
of saying that insufficient money is allocated in the federal
budget to pay for quality management of our national forests.
By my count, 241 federal, state or local groups
have gone on record opposing the Recreation Fee Demonstration
Program. I am aware of 11 groups in Arizona that are opposing
the program. One of these is the Arizona No Fee Coalition.
On June 15, in eight states, No Fee Coalitions
and other groups who oppose this fee program held public
protest demonstrations. In Sedona, the protest took place
at our ãYä and about 110 people participated.
Protesters handed out literature to passing vehicles and
carried home-made signs asking motorists to honk if they agreed
with the elimination of the Red Rock Pass Program.
I saw it. I heard people honk.
continued -- read more >
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