Page 4 - the Noise April 2017

News: USFS ContinUeS to tiCket HikerS? by Cindy Cole
once upon a time, a Sedonan named Josh went into the forest in the Red Rock Ranger District (RRRD) of Coconino National Forest to go for a hike. He parked his car at Midg- ley Bridge and hit the trail. When he returned from his hike, he discovered that a United States Forest Service (USFS) Violation Notice had been left on his parked vehicle — a ticket for “failure to pay Red Rock Pass fee.” There was no Red Rock Pass displayed in Josh’s wind- shield while he was out hiking. At the time the ticket was issued, Josh was out on the trail, enjoying his hike. He never saw a USFS Law Enforcement Officer (LEO) during his time on the forest. And, as far as he knew, no LEO ever saw him.
Josh then got directly into his car and drove away. He never used the restrooms or trash cans or any of the other provided amenities at the trailhead.
Josh knew there was something wrong with the ticket he received. He knew that he should only be charged a fee on forest land if he was using the amenities provided at a site, not just parking his car to go for a walk. So Josh decided to take action. He waited to receive a notice that he had to appear in court for his ticket. And then he filed a Motion to Dismiss ... and won. “I felt confident going into court with the Motion to Dismiss,” Josh said.
But the win was hollow. Why? Because he never got to see a judge. He was met in the courtroom by an imposing and authoritative federal prosecutor. The prosecutor told Josh that he would dismiss his ticket, even though he did not agree with Josh’s reasoning. The prosecutor inferred that what he thought applied in this case was the 2010 US District Court decision in the case of US v. Smith which stated that, if amenities are present, the USFS can charge a fee for use of a recreation site.
4 • April 2017 | the NOISE arts & news | www.thenoise.us