Cabin in the Woods May Not Belong There

The article, “Cabin Owners Face Day of Reckoning,” July 9, painted an idyllic picture of private cabin land handed down from generation to generation from the mining days of the 1800s. Unfortunately, this is not accurate.

The lands on which the cabins are located are not, and have never been, private property. They have always been under special-use permits -- which authorize only temporary use of this land and say that the structures must be removed upon expiration of the permits.

Not only are the cabin permit-holders in Sequoia National Park getting a sweetheart deal by paying only a few hundred dollars a year for permits to lease cabins in the Mineral King Valley, they are doing so at the expense of the American public.

The legislation sponsored by Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Tulare) would turn national parkland into private property by making permanent the cabin leases on this public land -- directly violating the goals and ideals of our national parks.

Glenn Padnick

Beverly Hills