3/31/15
Judge Rules in Favor of NPS.
Big surprise. We fought the King in the King's court and the King's henchmen did the King's bidding.
In the opinion of Judge Phillips the NPS backcountry fee is lawful and will stand. He did make several glaring statements but in the end found a way to justify the wrongdoing of the NPS. Kurt with NPT did the best job of highlighting the discrepancies so I encourage you to read the article and leave a comment, if so inclined.
This may be the ruling of Judge Phillips but the SFW doesn't lay down for something worth fighting for. You haven't heard the end of this. We are examining our legal recourse presently. I am proud to have stood with all of you for these what seem like many years now. Everyone can hold your head high. We have exposed Blackberry Farms private trail system, outed Gov. Sundquist illegal land acquistion from the NPS and highlited the crony system of guide service and concessionaires that dictate park policy. Of course the Great Smoky Mtns Association is still sending folks to the web to deny the trail system despite the fact that the NPS admitted it. The truth is inconvenient to NPS folks like the GSMA. I feel as if we have exposed many false faces dotting the park.
Thanks for all everyone did to support the cause. The cause does not end here though. We will take it as high as possible.