Crowdog
09-17-2002, 08:30 PM
On September 16, 2002 a class action lawsuit was filed in federal court against the U.S. Forest Service and a widely opposed forest fee program.
The class action suit was brought by Santa Ynez, CA public interest lawyer, Mary Ellen Barilotti, and seeks to bring an end to the Forest Service's Adventure Pass Recreational Fee Demonstration Program. The Adventure Pass "Fee Demo" Program imposes new access fees on national forests and was quietly passed, without public comment or congressional debate, as a rider on an Appropriations Bill in 1996. Since its inception, the Adventure Pass has been fought by countless outdoor organizations and the public at large.
The State Legislature and five Southern California counties have each adopted resolutions opposing the fee and, at the behest of the public, there are several bills by Reps. Capps (D. Santa Barbara) and Bono (R., Palm Springs) pending in Congress to end the Program. Other states and congressional reps have followed suit.
U.S. Forest Service officials misleadingly describe the Adventure Pass as merely a funding and maintenance issue for the agency and national forest lands. In fact, the Fee Demo Program is heavily lobbied in Congress by powerful recreational product and resort industry executives and companies. The reason being that the Fee Demo legislation, if permanently authorized, also permits the Forest Service and other federal land agencies to forge "partnerships" with private corporations in the management and development of commercialized recreational opportunities on America's public lands on a grand scale.
The class action suit, on behalf of a handful of plaintiffs, activists,
and the public-at-large, "seeks a determination of the court that the U.S. Forest Service exceeded the scope of its legislative authority in implementing a 'Fee Demonstration' program"; and that the agency's actions violate plaintiffs' constitutional amendment rights and "contravene established laws and rules governing the use and enjoyment of public lands", etc.
Ms. Barilotti is the former Chief Deputy Counsel for the County of Santa Barbara. She is also representing Adventure Pass protester and Santa Barbara resident, Terry Dahl, in his appeal of a court conviction brought by the Forest Service in 2001, for riding his bicycle in the Los Padres forest without an Adventure Pass. Mr. Dahl's appeal is being heard by the 9th Circuit Court on October 9, 2002.
With the class action lawsuit, Ms. Barilotti has generously offered her considerable experience and time to the Plaintiffs and to the public without any up front legal fees. However, the public's help is being sought for various additional costs associated with the proceedings regarding this legal action.
A fundraising effort is being coordinated by "Free Our Forests", a
Southern California based organization dedicated to stopping the
Adventure Pass "Fee Demo". Everyone opposed to the Adventure Pass double taxation and commercialization of public lands is urged to send one dollar (or more) to the Fee Demo Legal Challenge Fund c/o Free Our Forests, P.O. Box 411, Ojai, CA 93024. For more information on the class action suit and Fee Demo, go online at www.freeourforests.org or www.wildwilderness.org or please contact Jeff Pine at National Forest Defense Alliance at (805) 320-4459 or Robert Bartsch at Free Our Forests at (626) 795-2642.
The class action suit was brought by Santa Ynez, CA public interest lawyer, Mary Ellen Barilotti, and seeks to bring an end to the Forest Service's Adventure Pass Recreational Fee Demonstration Program. The Adventure Pass "Fee Demo" Program imposes new access fees on national forests and was quietly passed, without public comment or congressional debate, as a rider on an Appropriations Bill in 1996. Since its inception, the Adventure Pass has been fought by countless outdoor organizations and the public at large.
The State Legislature and five Southern California counties have each adopted resolutions opposing the fee and, at the behest of the public, there are several bills by Reps. Capps (D. Santa Barbara) and Bono (R., Palm Springs) pending in Congress to end the Program. Other states and congressional reps have followed suit.
U.S. Forest Service officials misleadingly describe the Adventure Pass as merely a funding and maintenance issue for the agency and national forest lands. In fact, the Fee Demo Program is heavily lobbied in Congress by powerful recreational product and resort industry executives and companies. The reason being that the Fee Demo legislation, if permanently authorized, also permits the Forest Service and other federal land agencies to forge "partnerships" with private corporations in the management and development of commercialized recreational opportunities on America's public lands on a grand scale.
The class action suit, on behalf of a handful of plaintiffs, activists,
and the public-at-large, "seeks a determination of the court that the U.S. Forest Service exceeded the scope of its legislative authority in implementing a 'Fee Demonstration' program"; and that the agency's actions violate plaintiffs' constitutional amendment rights and "contravene established laws and rules governing the use and enjoyment of public lands", etc.
Ms. Barilotti is the former Chief Deputy Counsel for the County of Santa Barbara. She is also representing Adventure Pass protester and Santa Barbara resident, Terry Dahl, in his appeal of a court conviction brought by the Forest Service in 2001, for riding his bicycle in the Los Padres forest without an Adventure Pass. Mr. Dahl's appeal is being heard by the 9th Circuit Court on October 9, 2002.
With the class action lawsuit, Ms. Barilotti has generously offered her considerable experience and time to the Plaintiffs and to the public without any up front legal fees. However, the public's help is being sought for various additional costs associated with the proceedings regarding this legal action.
A fundraising effort is being coordinated by "Free Our Forests", a
Southern California based organization dedicated to stopping the
Adventure Pass "Fee Demo". Everyone opposed to the Adventure Pass double taxation and commercialization of public lands is urged to send one dollar (or more) to the Fee Demo Legal Challenge Fund c/o Free Our Forests, P.O. Box 411, Ojai, CA 93024. For more information on the class action suit and Fee Demo, go online at www.freeourforests.org or www.wildwilderness.org or please contact Jeff Pine at National Forest Defense Alliance at (805) 320-4459 or Robert Bartsch at Free Our Forests at (626) 795-2642.