Page 9 - the NOISE June 2013

that have the six required amenities under REA – designated parking, picnic tables, permanent trash, restrooms, interpretive signs, and security.
Most significantly, there will also now be clearly marked non-fee parking areas, sometimes immediately adjacent to the fee sites, that will allow fee free access to trailheads, undeveloped areas, and road- side picnicking per the court’s ruling in the case.
In the ensuing discussion period, mem- bers of the RecRAC questioned several aspects of the Mt. Lemmon implementa- tion plan. In particular, the fact that one particular site in the region, Marshall Gulch, would not have fee free parking provided for trailhead access due to its size and location. It was explained this was a compromise reached in the settlement, but several RAC members indicated their discontent. Since the law requires fee free access to trailheads, even one area where this would not be provided was of concern.
Another major issue that caught the at- tention of the RecRAC members was the provision in the settlement agreement implementation plan to charge for a USFS visitor center at Mt. Lemmon. Mr. Helin stated that “this is where we are setting a national precedent” with regard to the fee. There are only a handful of USFS visitor centers around the country that currently charge an entry fee, none of which are in Arizona. Bill Brake, the chairman of the full RAC, asked Mr. Valenzuela to clarify this provision. Mr.Valenzuelastated,“Theyare not actually charging $5 per person to en- ter the visitor center. It’s when you park in the parking lot, there is a $5 fee for the car. It’s to pay for the infrastructure. It’s not ac- tually to pay for parking but for the ameni- ties that go along with the parking. So, it’s not a parking fee exactly.”
Mr. Valenzuela went on to say that, with- out a fee at the visitor center, it would probably be closed as others around the country have been closed.
Mr. Brake stated that he thought that visitor centers had other goals. “A great number of people will pay and stop to pic- nic and understand that. A great deal of people will go by your visitor center which is where you make your pitch for the costs of the picnic tables and toilets and such. But you don’t have the amenities there to make them want to stop and you’re going to charge them. A lot of people in this day and age cannot afford to pay to read what you have there ... to be able to enjoy all the effort and expertise you put in. I hate to see them go by because they don’t want to pay the five bucks.”
Carl Taylor asked what the perceived harm was in the Mt. Lemmon case as RAC members questioned the administrative complexity of the new plan.
Mr. Valenzuela explained the USFS is legally not allowed to charge an entry fee and because the Mt. Lemmon fee system was perceived as one, it “was deemed in- appropriate.”
“Now we have to go to something that is a lot more costly and time consuming,” responded Mr. Valenzuela. “That is collect fees at every single site. There will be com- pliance officers to enforce the fees.”
But in reality, it would seem that having fees only at well-marked, designated lo- cations would actually ease enforcement for the USFS. Instead of having to travel through a vast area checking every vehicle in every nook and cranny for a valid rec-
reation pass, compliance officers now will only have to go to each site and check only the vehicles parked within the designated fee area. Perhaps this will give USFS em- ployees more time to actually interact with the public in activities other than the writ- ing of parking tickets.
Maggie Sacher, who represents com- mercial recreation interests and hails from Marble Canyon, Ariz. asked whether there will be restrooms available for free use.
“There are several spots that have rest- rooms because we designed them as rest stops,” replied Mr. Valenzuela. Because they did not have six amenities, they only have five. It is not our intention to put a picnic table there just so they would have all six.”
Funny, that is exactly what was done at several trailheads in Sedona, including Jim Thompson, Boynton Canyon, and Bear Mountain. And the development of the Vultee Arch Road trailhead was done in a way that ensures it could be a future candi- date for fees whether anyone ever uses the picnic tables or not.
In the end, the RAC members decided they were not ready to offer a recommen- dation for the implementation of the Mt. Lemmon Settlement Agreement. Commit- tee members were concerned that there has been no public input regarding the implementation plan. There have been no financial analyses completed by the USFS to judge the impact of the agreement. No projections of revenues and expenses have been made. Even the plaintiffs only received the implementation plan the morning before the RecRAC meeting.
In atypical fashion as RACs go in other parts of the country, the Arizona group passed the following position statement and asked the USFS to do a more thorough job that includes input from the public at large before returning to them for a rec- ommendation.
The statement reads: “The Arizona Rec- reation Resource Advisory Council (RRAC) has not completed its review, and will not make a recommendation on the For- est Service’s Implementation Plan for the Mt. Lemmon Court Settle Agreement at this May 1, 2013 RRAC meeting, and the RRAC is asking the Forest Service to take the draft Implementation Plan to the pub- lic for review and comment and to bring the plan back to the RRAC at the next RRAC meeting with a report on the results of the public review process and documentation of general public support for the plan.”
Ms. Sacher issued a written statement for the media. In it she said that “land management should stay in the hands of land managers in partnership with active, engaged, and informed public guidance. The collective agency and public wisdom will always end with more user friendly re- sults than court settlements. We are fortu- nate that the plaintiff and friends pushed this concern to the front of discussions which shows the agencies the choice of courts or public input for land fee policy review. I hope they have learned their les- son from this.”
| Cindy Cole is a writer, photographer, and mother who often hikes the trails of Sedona. cindycole@live.com
Her new book chronocling the Red Rock Pass can be found at: tinyurl.com/buyredrockripoff
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