Disputed Fee for Forest Use

With the conviction of Terry Dahl in a federal court for riding his bike on unimproved public land without buying the Orwellian-named Adventure Pass (Feb. 7), it is now official: It is a crime to take a free walk in the woods.

This issue cuts to the core of civil liberties. Disregard for a moment that Congress gives away billions in subsidies to timber, mining and grazing interests and that the U.S. Forest Service is underfunded and underappreciated. This issue is not about money; we all know that nothing in life is free. It is about the perception of freedom. It is about which services should be funded out of general tax revenues and which should be paid for by single-usage fees. Now we will be criminalized for the impulse to walk on our public lands, even in areas that are completely unimproved.

What’s next? The Sidewalk Strolling Pass? The Sunset Viewing Pass? The Oxygen Inhaling Pass?

MICHAEL J. MOORE

Northridge

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See that snow up there on the mountains? Want to drive up, pull to the side of the road and throw a few snowballs around? Careful, you can get ticketed, or even fined up to $5,000 and six months in jail.

Do people really understand how invasive the disputed Adventure Pass really is? Astonishingly, it was escorted through Congress as one of those last-minute, under-the-radar appropriations bill riders, and it was renewed the same way. No public debate. The principles involved in charging people to “recreate” should have been discussed in public, not in a downtown federal courtroom.

JOHN KAREVOLL

Running Springs

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I think the biggest rip-off is the fact that the signs posted for the forest use fee say “Adventure Pass.” It sounds like a ski lift ticket, an amusement park ride or the new Disney California Adventure. Visitors to the forest may not realize that it’s for a parking permit.

ARLENE BUCHANAN

Gardena