Mt Hood National Forest Campgrounds

[retired jerry]

I think this is new on http://www.fs.usda.gov/recmain/mthood/recreation

campgrounds:
http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOC ... 800850.pdf

I don't know that this is good or bad, just happened to notice it

[pdxgene]

Am I reading that wrong or is Trillium Lake now back to ok for just a NW Forest Pass as opposed to last year when the pass was meaningless and the concessionaire fee had to be paid for day use too?

[Waffle Stomper]

$5/Vehicle/day. NOTE: NW Forest Pass or other passes not honored for Day-Use parking.

http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/mthood/r ... ecid=53636

[pdxgene]

But if you click that pdf file link it says it does count for the day use fee and there's a 2014 date on there though not in the same place.

[Steve20050]

I have a really hard time understanding how the federal government that uses the Northwest Forest Pass, says it doesn't count for day use activities in certain federal areas controlled by concessionaires? It makes no sense. I was just looking into a trip up to North Cascades/ Mount Baker and the Forest Pass is good as a day use permit anywhere that is federal land that I was checking on, other than camping grounds where you would need to pay for the site. How is it that this pass is excluded in certain places here like Trillium lake and our neck of the woods? I hope we can find some answers to why some of these places expect people to pay concessionaires for parking because the pass isn't valid. Seems like double dipping off the tax payers to me.

[BigBear]

It will only get more confusing because the NW Forest Pass is "unambiguously prohibited" per the 9th Apellate Court in Adams vs. USFG and reaffirmed in Bark vs. USFG in a federal district court ruling earlier this year. Ironically in Bark, the judge decided that concessionaires can charge whatever they want for the the public to use their public lands. Actually, confusing is not the right word, the right word is "corrupt." The federal forest lands were established in the 1890s to stop private interests from destroying the forests, and now the courts have given the land back to the private persons.

At what point are Americans going to get angry enough to stand up for what's wrong and take a real stand? Or, are we just so spell-bound by our I-phones and Blackberries to even notice what's happening around us. And, yes there's an app for that.

[olderthanIusedtobe]

I have a really hard time understanding how the federal government that uses the Northwest Forest Pass, says it doesn't count for day use activities in certain federal areas controlled by concessionaires? It makes no sense. I was just looking into a trip up to North Cascades/ Mount Baker and the Forest Pass is good as a day use permit anywhere that is federal land that I was checking on, other than camping grounds where you would need to pay for the site. How is it that this pass is excluded in certain places here like Trillium lake and our neck of the woods? I hope we can find some answers to why some of these places expect people to pay concessionaires for parking because the pass isn't valid. Seems like double dipping off the tax payers to me.

I've never liked the NW Forest Pass (you don't have to pay to park on National Forest lands in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, parts of California...why should you have to pay in WA and OR?) but I dutifully buy it each year. The idea of paying a private vendor to park on PUBLIC lands seems beyond ridiculous to me. I haven't actually had to do it yet. I think I'd be tempted to hang my NWFP on my mirror and be non-compliant with the private vendor. What happens if you don't pay? Can they ticket you? Can they actually enforce the ticket? I'd also like to ask them what they are charging me for. They didn't build the road or maintain the road that accesses the trail head. They didn't build the trail and most likely don't maintain it. They didn't build the adjacent campground. At best they probably empty the garbages and clean the bathrooms. If I'm using a campground I'll pay the listed fee, but if I'm just hiking and not using the CG at all I don't see any reason I should have to pay a private vendor.

[adamschneider]

But if you click that pdf file link it says it does count for the day use fee and there's a 2014 date on there though not in the same place.

This is the relevant section of the PDF:



Obviously this conflicts directly with the info on the link that Waffle Stomper posted.

[walkin62]

It is my understanding (per a Forest Service employee) that the concessionaire's have absolutely no ticketing authority.
Only the local sheriff, if it applies, or the Forest Service is able to do that.

[forestkeeper]

walkin62 is partially right. Within Forest Service boundaries only federal LEO's can ticket you. State or county can only ticket/ arrest you if you are breaking a state/ county law or ordinance. Concessionaires can do nothing. They might attempt to persuade you otherwise by yelling at you or try to convince you otherwise, but ALL concessionaires report to the Forest Service Recreation Manager in Sandy. All fees set by concessionaires MUST be approved by the Forest Service.