Topics
Advertising and Marketing
Airline Industry
Animal Cruelty
Auto and Transportation
Business and Industry
Buyer Beware
Children and Family Concerns
Consumer Alerts
Crime & the Justice System
Drugs and Supplements
Education and Schools
Entertainment, Art & Artists
Environment
Finance and Investing
Food and Beverage
Fraud
Gambling
Government
Health, Nutrition & Fitness
History
Home and Real Estate
Insurance
Law and Politics
Medical Matters
Misc
News Media
Observations, Myths & Thoughts
Product Safety
Religion
Restaurants and Fast Food
Security and Terrorism
Society and Culture
Sports
Statistics and Studies
Surgery
The Business of Beauty
The Workplace
Travel and Recreation
|
RECREATION FEES TO USE PUBLIC LANDS
The U.S. government Recreation Fee And Demonstration Program charges people
money to use public lands and was the brainchild of the American Recreation
Coalition which is a lobbying group that represents more than 100 motorized
recreational vehicle industries, tourist resorts, nationally known theme and
amusement parks as well as others. The idea is to charge people fees to raise
money for the allegedly underfunded natural resource governmental agencies.
This is a trial program that may become permanent!
Critics contend that the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau Of Land Management and
other government agencies already receive adequate taxpayer dollars to manage
public lands. However, these agencies unfortunately may be using the taxpayers'
funds to subsidize the mining, oil and gas drilling, livestock grazing and
timber logging industries! So, to cover their operating costs for these type
"special interest" projects, the government is entering into partnerships with
private recreation companies to develop natural land resources into tourist
attractions which will draw more fee-paying customers. Unfortunately, when a
new road is paved for the recreation industries to move in and develop public
lands, is the main goal to achieve maximum profits "OR" is it the sustainable
use of forests and public lands as well as the welfare of wildlife? You decide.
Critics charge that this federal recreation fee-paying program is nothing
more than the "Disneyfication of our natural treasures"! Legislators in favor
of this fee-paying program may now be considered, by critics, to be "in bed"
with new recreation industries instead of big mining, oil and timber! It may
just be new industries with the same old destruction of natural habitat and
resources with the same perverse money-making incentives!
Should we stop subsidizing industries that trash public lands? This would
save taxpayers billions of dollars! A small fraction of the dollars saved by
NOT subsidizing these private "special interest" industries would cover any fee
revenue supposedly needed by government to fund their agencies! At the same
time it would save what is left of our forests, rivers, streams and mountains!
Do we really want to further the commercialization, privatization and
motorization of public lands?
SUPPLEMENTAL SOURCE: EARTH FIRST JOURNAL SEPTEMBER 2002
Back
|