Posted by Peter Chapman on February 09, 2004 at 00:44:31:
For those who believe that access to public lands should remain free to all of us, please read on and contact your elected officials.
FEE DEMO ACTION ALERT!
* SENATE ENERGY COMMITTEE IS NOW RESCHEDULED
TO VOTE ON S.1107 ON WEDNESDAY MORNING, 2/11/04, AT 10 am EST
*DEPT. OF INTERIOR JUST MADE PARTS OF HR 3283 FEE BILL
PERMANENT FOR BLM BY AN ADMINISTRATIVE DECISION.
BLM FEE FINES TO BE $5,000.00.
*PLEASE REQUEST AN AMENDMENT TO S.1107 TO KILL FEE DEMO
FOR USFS, BLM & USFWS
THE OPPORTUNITY:
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will now vote, on Wednesday morning 2/11/04, on Sen. Thomas's (R-WY) Recreational Fee Authority Act of 2003 (S1107).
S. 1107 calls for making recreation user fees permanent in the National Parks only. Although this bill would allow the program to expire in the Forest Service, BLM, and US Fish and Wildlife Service, there is a possibility that one or more Senators will introduce an amendment that will specifically kill Fee Demo in those three agencies. (We must help make that happen.)
THE THREAT JUST INTENSIFIED:
Interior Secretary Gale Norton is putting enormous pressure upon Senate Energy Committee members to add into S.1107 the same language that appears in Congressman Regula's (R-OH) atrocious fee legislation titled "Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act", HR 3283.
HR 3283 would make recreation fees permanent for the NPS, USFS, BLM, USFWS and the (newly-added) Bureau of Reclamation. It would also make failure to pay the fees punishable by 6 months in jail plus a $5,000 fine!
In fact, the Dept. of Interior just announced on /6/04 that it has administratively authorized provisions from HR3283 - such as ticketed individuals guilty till proven innocent, owners of ticketed cars responsible
for tickets, and a $5,000 fine for non-compliance. The new BLM fines will start on 4/6/04. We believe that the Forest Service and USFWS will follow suit. This administrative action, by the Interior department, completely bypasses the Congress. Fee Demo was started as an appropriations rider and has been extended five times through the appropriations process. Now the land management agencies are moving towards permanence by administrative means. This is not what our great nation was built on.
Only Congress can reverse an administrative decision such as this - so we must now ask Senators to add "kill language" to S. 1107, to terminate
recreation fees in the BLM, US Forest Service and US Fish & Wildlife Service. Together, we have a chance to nip in the bud the Administration's attempt to enact permanent BLM recreation fees without congressional authorization.
WHAT TO DO:
Please contact every Senator on the Committee, if possible, by fax and also by phone. The contact list is below. These faxes and phone calls MUST be
made by no later than 9:30 am EST Wednesday, February 11th. The Committee will be voting on S. 1107 on Wednesday morning!
Address your fax "Dear Senator" and send the same fax to each Senator. Faxes can be easily sent (less busy tones) outside office hours. Please call as many as possible, if you have no access to a fax machine.
Everyone must contact Senator Larry Craig as Chairman of the Public Land Subcommittee and Senator Craig Thomas as Chairman of the National Parks Subcommittee.
Then start with Senators Domenici and Bingaman, any Senators from your home state and others at random if you have limited time.
Senators Craig and Thomas must be contacted by everyone!!!!
This is one of those times when we need to bring enormous pressure to bear on the Senate Energy Committee at short notice. Who else can you get
to call and fax? Friends, family members? Please remember this email alert is part of a grassroots nationwide campaign against Fee Demo. There is no
well-financed lobbying effort getting underway. It's just citizens like you and me who believe access to our public lands must remain free for all of us.
WHAT TO SAY (brief is fine):
Ask each Senator to support S. 1107 as written, at Energy Committee
markup.
Tell them that an amendment that specifically kills Fee Demo for the
Forest
Service, BLM and US Fish & Wildlife Service must be added to the bill.
Please Note: When we say this, we are not positive that such an
amendment
will be offered, but we believe one will be. If you're asked who's
going to
offer such an amendment, it's fine to say you don't know, but that
you've
heard it may come up...)
SAMPLE LETTER (please put in your own words and add to...)
Dear Senator,
Please vote in support of S. 1107, the Recreation Fee Authority Act, as
it
is written. Please do not support the addition of any other agencies
other
than the National Park Service, to S. 1107.
Please also vote to support any amendment to S. 1107 that may be
introduced,
which adds language that ends recreation fees for the US Forest
Service, BLM
and US Fish & Wildlife Service.
I strongly oppose the decision by the Dept. of Interior, in the Federal
Register on 2/6/04, to make public use of public land punishable by
$5,000.00 fines. I look to your leadership to end Fee Demo now.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
(name and address very clearly, please.)
COMMITTEE CONTACT LIST:
*- if you only have a limited time please contact those with a * next
to
their name first. Thank You.
Senator Phone Fax
Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) 202-224-5521
202-224-4340
Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) 202-224-6621
202-228-0539
Sen. Craig Thomas (R-WY) 202-224-6441
202-224-1724
*Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) 202-224-4944
202-228-3398
*Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) 202-224-5244
202-228-2717
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) 202-224-3841
202-228-3954
Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR) 202-224-3753
202-228-3997
Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) 202-224-2752
202-228-1067
*Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) 202-224-4521
202-224-2207
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) 202-224-5824
202-224-9735
*Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) 202-224-2644
202-224-8594
Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) 202-224-2551
202-224-1193
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) 202-224-3441 202-228-0514
Sen. Jim Talent (R-MO) 202-224-6154
202-228-1518
Sen. Don Nickles (R-OK) 202-224-5754
202-224-6008
*Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) 202-224-6542
202-228-3027
*Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD) 202-224-5842
202-228-5765
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) 202-224-6665 202-224-5301
Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) 202-224-4343
202-228-1373
Sen. Bob Graham (D-FL) 202-224-3041
202-224-2237
Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI) 202-224-6361
202-224-2126
*Sen. Ben Nighthorse
Campbell (R-CO) 202-224-5852
202-228-4609
Every Vote Counts -- Thank you
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Scott Silver
Wild Wilderness
248 NW Wilmington Ave.
Bend, OR 97701
phone: 541-385-5261
e-mail: ssilver@wildwilderness.org
Internet: http://www.wildwilderness.org
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^