Senators sponsor bill to repeal recreation fees

On Friday, Senator Jim Risch (R-ID) joined Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Montana’s Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester, both Democrats, in co-sponsoring S. 868, the Fee Repeal and Expanded Access Act, which would repeal most provisions of the Federal Lands Recreational Enhancement Act (FLREA), the law federal agencies use to charge fees for accessing public lands. Repealing FLREA--or RAT (Recreation Access Tax) to its detractors--is also, it seems, a truly bipartisan issue with two Democrat and two Republican Senators carrying the bill. If passed, S. 868 would allow the fees authorized under the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965, such as those charged for entering national parks and camping in developed campgrounds, to continue, but federal agencies could no longer charge for general access to public lands, as they now do in many states. Since FLREA became law in 2004, notes Kitty Benzar, president of the Western Slope No-Fee Coalition, over 1,000 new or increased fees have been put in place by federal agencies...more