Yep, that means that you can visit some forest areas free of the $5 daily or $30 yearly Adventure Pass fees! Hikers and off-roaders rejoice!
Or that may be just what they’re expecting us to do.
I will always look a gift horse in the mouth – especially if that gift horse is coming from a governmental agency. The plan is called the “Federal Lands Recration Enhancement Act” – or REA. When you walk around it and kick the tires, it seems like a good idea. But when you look under the hood, there’s some hinky. There’s ALWAYS some hinky. Here’s a portion of what the REA says in their summary:
Press release from the U.S.D.A.:
A deer hunter — not pot growers, as some politicians with an agenda publicly stated — started the Rim Fire that burned through over 237,341 acres of land in the Stanislaus National Forest and Yosemite National Park before firefighters finally got the upper hand. The 402 square mile fire blazed through more than $127 million of taxpayer money just fighting it. It began in the steep hills of the remote Jawbone Ridge area to the east of Groveland on August 17, 2013 and quickly spread out of control. Losses are estimated to be in excess of $50 million.
Press release from the USDA: