"Fees" on the Rubicon...

[Reid Racing]

Really surprised this wasn't done years ago. We're definitely in favor!

The anti-access people are certainly well-funded. We need to play by their rules and throw some money into keeping public lands open to the public! This would be a great income generator and would keep the land use battle at the front of everyone's minds since they'd see it every time they drove past the donation box.

[rockcrawln]

Originally Posted by renolaw

A number of iron rangers were recently vandalized in a local nevada state park. Either the entire tube is taken or the crooks somehow got a bolt cutter to the lock. Good news is they were caught-- tweakers looking for a free lunch. The rangers set up a hidden camera to catch them in the act. One that was stolen was rammed repeatedly w/ a truck to dislodge the concrete base then they drug it home on a chain. Good idea here but its got to be very secure to deter the vandals and crooks.

I'm sure with all of our fabrication knowledge we can come up with something that can't be removed with anything short of a D9 or an excavator with a jackhammer.

[foxeod]

Why not just relocate the donation package box and add a flyer or a lil more info on it. Less of a worry of being stolen.

[toyotachick86]

if this does happen i feel that the spot should be at some overlook and not in the brush were that sign is so people will realize what they are donating to

[Yota Up]

Why is everyone thinking cash only.
That's the only concern for any donation box.

The envelopes we have now can simply be put in a more visible place than the kiosk.
That way, people can take the envelopes home and mail them with no worry about theft.

The biggest problem with the current system is the box not that visible(per the responses early in this thread from people that have been unaware of it for years) and it just says "Take one" so you don't know what it's about unless you actually investigate it.
As of this last weekend, the donation box is still in the same place on the kiosk:

[rockcrawln]

Originally Posted by Yota Up

Why is everyone thinking cash only.
That's the only concern for any donation box.

The envelopes we have now can simply be put in a more visible place than the kiosk.
That way, people can take the envelopes home and mail them with no worry about theft.

The biggest problem with the current system is the box not that visible(per the responses early in this thread from people that have been unaware of it for years) and it just says "Take one" so you don't know what it's about unless you actually investigate it.
As of this last weekend, the donation box is still in the same place on the kiosk:

The issue with the "Take One" approach is that people grab the envelope, head out on the trail and forget about it. Then the envelope gets destroyed, falls out (more garbage on the trail with our name on it), or ignored.

If you have an iron ranger there people put money in it right then and its done and taken care of. Plus, if you have to put postage on the envelope thats another PITA. I haven't bought a stamp in over a year. I would be MUCH more inclined to drop $10 or $20 in an iron ranger at the trail head or something than keep track of an envelope, put money in it, and find a mail box to mail it back. Another plus is that if we put up a visible enough sign we get the dirt bike / atv crowd giving money too which will add that much more money. If you have one at each end we might be able to get some money from the ATV tours that go in from the Tahoe side too.

[DRM]

Originally Posted by renolaw

A number of iron rangers were recently vandalized in a local nevada state park. Either the entire tube is taken or the crooks somehow got a bolt cutter to the lock. Good news is they were caught-- tweakers looking for a free lunch. The rangers set up a hidden camera to catch them in the act. One that was stolen was rammed repeatedly w/ a truck to dislodge the concrete base then they drug it home on a chain. Good idea here but its got to be very secure to deter the vandals and crooks.

I know the Tellico (RIP ) fee tubes had similar issues from time to time as well...

[rockcrawln]

Where were the tubes at Tellico? Were they at the trail head or on the trail? What if we put a tube at Little Sluice and Inspiration Point? That way you would have to actually be on the trail to get to them and probably a lot less likely for tweakers to break into them.

[rockcrawln]

What ever happened to this idea? Did anyone ever look into this?

[Bebe]

Below is how County Counsel argued against Fees to the Water Board.

[rockcrawln]

I thought we were talking about putting in an iron ranger to accept donations rather than a required fee. Something easier and more visable than the donation envelopes.

[patjeepyj]

I believe the simple thought on this entire thread is that the "donation" to RTF (not fee) should be a little bit easier to perform. My thought is this, Picture how you get fast food. YOU dont get out of your vehicle.. We need a way to make a DONATION easier. IF I had a Twenty spot on my dash then I could toss it in the steel tube and keep on Jeepin' with out missing a tune. When we enter the trail we are on a mission to get to camp. So stopping to get a envelope is usually a bit more of a task than a thoughtless process. Please dont get me wrong envelopes are great if they work for YOU but for others; a way to DONATE without getting out of your vehicle would be AWESOME!!!!

LET THE REMARKS BEGIN!

[rockcrawln]

Originally Posted by patjeepyj

I believe the simple thought on this entire thread is that the "donation" to RTF (not fee) should be a little bit easier to perform. My thought is this, Picture how you get fast food. YOU dont get out of your vehicle.. We need a way to make a DONATION easier. IF I had a Twenty spot on my dash then I could toss it in the steel tube and keep on Jeepin' with out missing a tune. When we enter the trail we are on a mission to get to camp. So stopping to get a envelope is usually a bit more of a task than a thoughtless process. Please dont get me wrong envelopes are great if they work for YOU but for others; a way to DONATE without getting out of your vehicle would be AWESOME!!!!

LET THE REMARKS BEGIN!

I agree 110%. This is exactly what I was in one of my earlier posts. It's a lot easier and more likely for me to pull $20 outta my wallet and put it in the iron ranger than stopping, grabbing an envelope, putting money in it, and sending it off. I'll be the first to admit I'm a lazy bastid.

[resqme]

We're listening and working on this. Lining up ducks for permission before we do it. Great ideas here, thanks!