Page 2 of Motions:
UNITED
STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN
DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
AT
KNOXVILLE
SOUTHERN FOREST WATCH,
INC.,
)
et al.,
)
)
Plaintiffs,
)
)
v.
)
CIV NO. 3:13-cv-116
)
(HOOD/GUYTON)
SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR
)
SALLY JEWELL, et al.,
)
)
Defendants.
)
EXHIBIT 5 TO PLAINTIFFS’
REQUEST FOR ADMISSIONS
On the following website,
http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2012/03/great-smoky-
mountains-national-park-institute-backcountry-fees9579, there appeared the
following article quoting defendant Ditmanson.
The title of the article is “Great Smoky Mountains National Park To
Institute Backcountry Fees”, its author is Kurt Repanshek, and the article
states:
“Those who head off into
the backcountry of Great Smoky Mountains National Park for a night or two will
have to pay for the privilege beginning in 2013 under a plan approved by the
National Park Service.
The proposal, which has
drawn a fair amount of controversy, is intended by park officials to help
streamline and improve the backcountry permitting process and heighten the
presence of rangers in the backcountry.
Great Smoky Superintendent
Dale Ditmanson today announced that the plan has been approved by the Park
Service's Washington headquarters.
The proposal was open for
public comment last summer and some 230 written comments and two petitions were
received during the comment period, according to park officials.
According to the park
superintendent, the public comments provided a great deal of constructive input
on the concerns park backcountry users had about the fee plan.
“Many commenters were under
the misconception that the Smokies is legally prohibited from charging user
fees. The park is prohibited from charging a toll or license fee from motorists
crossing park roads, by language in a 1951 deed under which the ownership of
some park roads was transferred from the state of Tennessee to the National Park
Service," Superintendent Ditmanson said in a release. "But, we have long been
authorized to collect user fees for specific activities such as front country
camping, weddings, and commercial filming.
“There was also a
significant amount of concern about our initial plan to utilize the same
computerized federal reservation system, www.recreation.gov that virtually all
national parks use to reserve drive-in sites in front country campgrounds," he
continued. "We acknowledge that some of the policies, such as the lead time for
making reservations and cancellations, are not a good fit for more spontaneous
backcountry users. We will not use that system unless we are convinced that it
can provide the level of service we want to offer, and are exploring the
alternative of developing a stand-alone software program tailored specifically
to the Smokies. The system developed will also need to be practicable for
Appalachian Trail thru hikers whose itineraries evolve from day-to-day.”
As for how much the permits
will cost, the superintendent said he hoped the park could rely on the lowest,
"and simplest," of the fees proposed last summer: $4 per night per person.
"Most importantly, 100
percent of the revenue from this program will be invested in improving
back-country services through extended hours of the back-country office,
trip-planning assistance, on-line reservations, and protection of park resources
through increased ranger staff," Superintendent Ditmanson said.
Park managers plan to
provide periodic updates as plans for the reservation system evolve.”
UNITED
STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN
DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
AT
KNOXVILLE
SOUTHERN FOREST WATCH,
INC.,
)
et al.,
)
)
Plaintiffs,
)
)
v.
)
CIV NO. 3:13-cv-116
)
(HOOD/GUYTON)
SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR
)
SALLY JEWELL, et al.,
)
)
Defendants.
)
EXHIBIT 6 TO PLAINTIFFS’
REQUEST FOR ADMISSIONS
On the following website,
http://www.nps.gov/grsm/parknews/bc-camping-fee.htm, there appeared the
following press release quoting defendant Ditmanson.
“Date: March 7, 2012
Contact: Public Affairs
Office, (865) 436-1207
Great Smoky Mountains
Superintendent Dale A. Ditmanson has announced that the Park's proposal to begin
collecting for the use of the Park's backcountry campsites and shelters has been
approved by the National Park Service. This approval clears the way for the Park
to move forward with developing an on line system to collect fees beginning in
2013 for reserving and use of the Park's backcountry by overnight hikers and
equestrians.
The Park developed the plan
in order to improve its trip-planning and reservation services to users and to
expand its backcountry Ranger presence to better protect park resources through
enforcement of food-storage and other regulations and improved visitor education
regarding Leave-No-Trace principles.
The proposal was open for
public comment last summer and some 230 written comments and two petitions were
received during the comment period. According to Ditmanson, the public comments
provided a great deal of constructive input on the concerns Park backcountry
users had about the fee plan. "Many commenters were under the misconception that
the Smokies is legally prohibited from charging user fees. The Park is
prohibited from charging a toll or license fee from motorists crossing Park
roads, by language in a 1951 deed under which the ownership of some park roads
was transferred from the State of Tennessee to the National Park Service. But,
we have long been authorized to collect user fees for specific activities such
as front country camping, weddings, and commercial filming."
"There was also a
significant amount of concern about our initial plan to utilize the same
computerized federal reservation system, www.recreation.gov that virtually all
national parks use to reserve drive-in sites in front country campgrounds. We
acknowledge that some of the policies, such as the lead time for making
reservations and cancellations, are not a good fit for more spontaneous
backcountry users. We will not use that system unless we are convinced that it
can provide the level of service we want to offer, and are exploring the
alternative of developing a stand-alone software program tailored specifically
to the Smokies. The system developed will also need to be practicable for
Appalachian Trail thru hikers whose itineraries evolve from day-to-day."
"Concern was also raised
about the range of fee amounts that were under consideration and that the
resulting revenues may be diverted to other programs. We have decided to focus
our plans around the lowest and simplest of the fees under study: $4 per night
per person. Most importantly, 100% of the revenue from this program will be
invested in improving back-country services through extended hours of the
back-country office, trip-planning assistance, on-line reservations, and
protection of park resources through increased ranger staff. "
Now that the proposal has
been approved, Park managers plan to provide periodic updates as plans for the
reservation system evolve.”
UNITED
STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN
DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
AT
KNOXVILLE
SOUTHERN FOREST WATCH,
INC.,
)
et al.,
)
)
Plaintiffs,
)
)
v.
)
CIV NO. 3:13-cv-116
)
(HOOD/GUYTON)
SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR
)
SALLY JEWELL, et al.,
)
)
Defendants.
)
EXHIBIT 7 TO PLAINTIFFS’
REQUEST FOR ADMISSIONS
On the following website,
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/dec/04/avid-smokies-
hiker-seeks-access-to-comments-over/?print=1, there appeared the following news
article by Morgan Simmons that quotes park spokesman Bob Miller.
“Avid Smokies hiker seeks
access to comments collected over park backcountry fee
By Morgan Simmons
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Ever since Great Smoky
Mountains National Park proposed a new user fee on backcountry camping, John
Quillen has been on a crusade.
A self-employed drug
counselor and avid backpacker from Knoxville, the 45-year-old Quillen is
vehemently opposed to the proposal, and he is convinced most people who have a
stake in the matter are, too.
To prove his point, Quillen
recently filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the National Park
Service to obtain copies of the 1,000-plus comments received last summer during
the public comment period. The park service said it would comply with Quillen's
request, but would charge him a $1,200 copying and searching charge.
In response, Quillen has
retained an attorney. An appeal of the fee is under way.
"I'd bet the farm that the
comments were overwhelmingly negative," Quillen said. "The park doesn't want to
release that information, in my opinion."
The proposed fee would pay
for an online reservation system and 24-hour call center for all the park's
backcountry campsites and shelters. Currently, reservations are required at all
the park's trail shelters and at only 26 of the park's most popular backcountry
campsites.
The fee would also pay to
hire two backcountry rangers who would check campsites to prevent crowding that
can damage natural resources and lead to food storage problems and encourage
nuisance bears.
The park's three fee
options include $10 per reservation plus $5 per person; $10 reservation plus
$2.25 per person per night; or a simplified option of $4 per person per night.
Among those rallying
against the proposal are guidebook author Johnny Molloy, and Jim Casada, author
of "Fly Fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park: An Insiders Guide to
a Pursuit of Passion."
The park's backcountry
camping peaked in 1996 with 102,022 camper nights. In the last five years
backcountry camping has averaged just under 80,000 camper nights each year. In
2010, the estimated number of backcountry camper nights was 79,480.
Quillen and other critics
of the fee say the Smokies' backcountry isn't as crowded as the park claims.
"Hiring two rangers to
cruise the empty backcountry is a waste of taxpayers' money," Quillen said. "Why
is the park bringing this up now when backcountry camping has been on the
decline?"
Park officials say the two
rangers hired to patrol the park's 800 square miles would concentrate their
efforts on the the park's most popular campgrounds that suffer most from
overcrowding as a result of users showing up without a reservation.
Park spokesman Bob Miller
cited Icewater Springs shelter along the Appalachian Trail as a site that
frequently is over-occupied.
Unlike a number of national
parks, the Smokies has never charged a backcountry camping fee, and it's the
only major national park that doesn't charge an entrance fee.
Responding to charges that
the proposed backcountry camping fee is tantamount to an entrance fee, Miller
said the park already charges similar user fees for frontcountry camping and
wedding permits.
Miller said the park isn't
conducting a "straw poll" with the pubic comments but rather is using public
input to identify substantive concerns related to the proposal.
"The park is not going to
profit from this," Miller said. "We're not proposing the fee just to aggravate
people. The only way we can contemplate this is if we can improve on the
services we're not satisfied with."
Miller said it is "very
unlikely" the park will reach a final decision on the backcountry camping fee
before next summer in 2012.”
UNITED
STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN
DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
AT
KNOXVILLE
SOUTHERN FOREST WATCH,
INC.,
)
et al.,
)
)
Plaintiffs,
)
)
v.
)
CIV NO. 3:13-cv-116
)
(HOOD/GUYTON)
SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR
)
SALLY JEWELL, et al.,
)
)
Defendants.
)
EXHIBIT 8 TO PLAINTIFFS’
REQUEST FOR ADMISSIONS
On the following website,
http://www.thedailytimes.com/Local_News/story/Smokies-to
-charge-backcountry-shelter-fee-id-021402, there appeared the following news
article by Joel Davis that quotes park spokesman defendant Ditmanson, and it is
titled “Smokies to charge
backcountry shelter fee”. The
article states:
“By Joel Davis |
(joeld@thedailytimes.com)
Great Smoky Mountains
National Park will begin charging a fee for use of the backcountry campsites and
shelters in 2013.
The National Park Service
has approved a proposal to collect $4 per person per night for the use of the
Park’s backcountry shelters by overnight hikers and equestrians. There will be
no fees for day hiking. The Park will develop an online system to collect the
fees.
The Park currently requires
that all those planning to stay overnight in the backcountry obtain a permit and
make a reservation either by phone or in person at the Park’s Backcountry
Information Center at the Sugarlands Visitor Center near Gatlinburg.
The proposal was open for
public comment last summer and some 230 written comments and two petitions were
received during the comment period. The public comments provided a great deal of
constructive input on the concerns Park backcountry users had about the fee
plan, said GSMNP Superintendent Dale A. Ditmanson.
User fees legal
“Many commenters were under
the misconception that the Smokies is legally prohibited from charging user
fees,” Ditmanson said. “The Park is prohibited from charging a toll or license
fee from motorists crossing Park roads, by language in a 1951 deed under which
the ownership of some Park roads was transferred from the State of Tennessee to
the National Park Service.
“But, we have long been
authorized to collect user fees for specific activities such as front country
camping, weddings and commercial filming.”
The Park developed the plan
in order to improve trip-planning and reservation services to users and to
expand its backcountry ranger presence, according a press release announcing the
approval on Wednesday.
Opponents Disappointed
John Quillen, who maintains
the http://southernforestwatch.org website, has led some public opposition to
the fee. He said the NPS has not talked with groups who use the backcountry
facilities about alternative ideas.
“We’re extremely
disappointed but not at all surprised,” Quillen said. “The public comments that
I had to essentially sue the Park Service to obtain were 18-1 in opposition of
the fee.”
In the press release,
Ditmanson acknowledged some of the concerns. “There was also a significant
amount of concern about our initial plan to utilize the same computerized
federal reservation system, http://www.recreation.gov , that virtually all
national parks use to reserve drive-in sites in front country campgrounds.
New system explored
“We acknowledge that some
of the policies, such as the lead-time for making reservations and
cancellations, are not a good fit for more spontaneous backcountry users. We
will not use that system unless we are convinced that it can provide the level
of service we want to offer, and are exploring the alternative of developing a
stand-alone software program tailored specifically to the Smokies.
“The system developed will
also need to be practical for Appalachian Trail thru hikers whose itineraries
evolve from day-to-day.
“Concern was also raised
about the range of fee amounts that were under consideration and that the
resulting revenues may be diverted to other programs. We have decided to focus
our plans around the lowest and simplest of the fees under study: $4 per night,
per person.
“Most importantly, 100
percent of the revenue from this program will be invested in improving
backcountry services through extended hours of the backcountry office,
trip-planning assistance, online reservations, and protection of Park resources
through increased ranger staff.”