Committee Recommends Fee Increases On Eight National Forests In Northwest

By Pete Springer | Feb. 2, 2009 9:14 a.m. | Updated: June 17, 2010 midnight | Portland, OR

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A recreation advisory committee that met in Portland Friday has recommended fee increases for dozens of sites on national forests in the Pacific Northwest.  As Pete Springer reports, it’s the second time in the past year the committee has recommended fee increases.
The Pacific Northwest Recreation Advisory Committee is made up of volunteers who meet twice a year to recommend changes to federal land fees.Congress requires them to do this before any fee increases are implemented.  But some people think the committees are stacked in favor of federal land managers.Scott Silver is one those people.  He’s the executive director of Wild Wilderness in Bend.   Silver “These people are not representatives of the general public.  They are people who have vested interests and can be counted on by the Forest Service to do the bidding of the Forest Service and to approve the fee proposals put forth by the Forest Service.” However, a forest service spokesman says the committees are open to anyone who wants to apply and that their goal is to represent the general public.To date, recreation advisory committees around the country have recommended more than 700 new fees and fee increases on public lands in the last two years.

© 2009 OPB

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