F**K Ralph Regula (R-OH)

Despite a last-minute outpouring of letters and phone calls and a flood of negative editorials, an Ohio congressman with no public lands in his district has forced a measure through Congress to implement permanent access fees for recreation on all land managed by the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Reclamation.

Ralph Regula (R-OH), the original architect of the unpopular Recreational Fee Demonstration Program (Fee Demo), attached his bill as a rider to the giant omnibus appropriations bill.

The fee bill, HR 3283 (or as foes have labeled it, the "Recreational Access Tax" (RAT)), allows the federal land management agencies to charge access fees for recreational use of public lands by the general public. It has been highly controversial and is opposed by hundreds of organizations, state legislatures, county governments and rural Americans.
This is a bad bill and it is a bad tax. It will not be accepted by the American people," said Robert Funkhouser, president of the Western Slope No-Fee Coalition, one of the groups coordinating opposition to public lands fees. "It was forced through without passing the House or any hearings or debate, much less a vote in the Senate. Such a major change in policy should be done in an open public process, not behind closed doors. Congressman Regula has sold out America's precious heritage of public lands."

Key provisions of the RAT include permanent recreation fee authority for National Forests and BLM land as well as all land managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the National Park Service. Failure to pay the fees will be a criminal offense.

and this is the one I really love :eek:

Drivers, owners, and occupants of vehicles not displaying either a daily or annual pass will be presumed guilty of failure to pay and can all be charged, without obligation by the government to prove their guilt.

:( :mad: :( :mad:

lifted from bend.com