So says one of the three judges who just shot down the illegal US Forest Service fee program on the Santa Catalina Mountains on the Coronado National Forest near Tucson, Arizona. The case is the result of four Tucson residents filing suit against the Coronado National Forest for requiring an entrance fee on the Catalina Highway, which imposes a fee for backcountry access that is clearly illegal under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA).
The three judges soundly rejected the Forest Service argument that since the amenities required by FLREA are present within the Mount Lemmon area, everyone entering the area has to pay for them, even though they don't plan to use the amenities and intend only to park, travel through the forest, visit scenic overlooks, camp in undeveloped areas, or hike into the backcountry. The judge further wrote, "The statute is abundantly clear that a standard amenity recreation fee cannot, under any circumstances, be charged for those activities."
Have a look at the Appeals Court decision- it contains such gems as "The Forest Service fails to distinguish—as the statute does—between someone who glides into a paved parking space and sits at a picnic table enjoying a feast of caviar and champagne, and someone who parks on the side of the highway, sits on a pile of gravel, and eats an old baloney sandwich while the cars whizz by."
http://www.westernslopenofee.org/pdfuploads/2012_02_09_Mt_Lemmon_Decision_Reversed_and_Remanded.pdf
For more information on the fight to restore free access to the public lands which YOU own, see http://www.westernslopenofee.org
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