Supervisors Back Forest Fee Protest

Joining a nationwide campaign to end fees at forests throughout the country, Ventura County supervisors on Tuesday approved a resolution opposing a U.S. Forest Service program.

“I feel this is a regressive tax and discourages the use of the forest, particularly by lower-income families,” Supervisor Kathy Long wrote in a letter to her colleagues.

Similar resolutions opposing the Adventure Pass have been approved by supervisors in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Kern counties, and by the city of Ojai.

At Tuesday’s board meeting, Supervisor Frank Schillo was the only supervisor not supporting the resolution, which is advisory. Schillo said it is contradictory for supervisors to oppose the federal fee when the county charges its own fees for admission to county-run parks.

“This is a prudent method for providing for what the people want,” said Schillo, referring to clean and well-kept mountain trails and campgrounds.

But the other supervisors, swayed by comments of several people who rose to oppose the Adventure Pass, voted to approve the resolution.

Visitors to national forests have been charged $5 daily per car or an annual fee of $30 since Congress implemented the fee in 1997. It applies in the Angeles, Cleveland, Los Padres and San Bernardino National forests in Southern California.

Since then, several local groups have formed--including the Ojai-based Free Our Forests--to garner support for abolishing the fees. The Ojai group has staged several protests.

The local resolution argues that people should not have to pay for public recreation such as hiking, picnicking and observing wildlife on taxpayer-supported public lands.