This Fall, a few things have happened on the Fee Demo front. This
update includes: 1) a legislative update; 2) an update of Fee Demo in
the courts; and 3) an update on resolutions against Fee Demo.

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1) Legislative Update

Legislatively, two bills were introduced this year to make Fee Demo
permanent. One would make the program permanent for the Park Service,
Forest Service, Fish & Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Land Management.
The other would make Fee Demo permanent only for the Park Service.
Nothing has happened with either of these bills; nor with previous bills
to end or make permanent the program. With a "lame-duck" Congress
coming back into session soon, nothing should be expected to happen.
Additionally, some key proponents of Fee Demo, including James Hansen of
Utah, will no longer be in Congress in the next session.

Once the new Congress begins, we'll need to have a new round of letters
to Congress; not only to alert new members of Congress that Fee Demo
should be ended, but to remind continuing members that we still don't
want to see a permanent program.

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2) Fee Demo in the Courts

There has been movement in the courts on Fee Demo recently as well.
Terry Dahl, a Fee Demo protester from Santa Barbara, lost his appeal to
the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on October 11. They ruled that the
Forest Service could apply the fee to any forest visitor, regardless of
their activity -- including passing out literature against Fee Demo.
However, the court also ruled that a violation of the program is only an
infraction, punishable by a maximum $100 fine (with no possible jail
time). The Forest Service had attempted to make a violation a class B
misdemeanor, punishable by up to a $5000 and/or 6 months in jail.

The attorney on the case, Mary Ellen Barilotti, has filed to have her
appeal on behalf of Mr. Dahl reconsidered by the court. None of the
constitutional issues, or conflicts with existing law were addressed by
the court.

The Fee Demo Legal Challenge Fund continues to seek donations to support
the ongoing effort to appeal Mr. Dahl's case, as well as the class
action lawsuit filed on behalf of citizens harmed by Fee Demo. Go to
http://www.freeourforests.org/legalfund.html for more information,
including how to donate.

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3) Sedona City Council Opposes Fee Demo

On October 22, the Sedona City Council voted 5-2 to pass a resolution to
restore proper funding for public lands in order to eliminate the
Recreational Fee Demonstration Program known in the Sedona area as the
"Red Rock Pass." One of the dissenting votes came from a council member
calling for a stronger resolution. This makes Sedona the 26th
government to pass a resolution opposing Fee Demo, including 4 state
legislatures, 16 counties, and 5 other cities.

The Arizona No Fee Coalition, which helped make this resolution come to
be, plans to bring more resolutions to other governments in Arizona.


-MZ