Phone: (202) 225-3271
SMOKIES SMOKESCREEN MEANS ENTRANCE FEE FOR BACKPACKERS
News and Updates in chronological order below.
TN State House of Representatives issue Proclamation Condemning Backcountry Fee 4/08/13
Knox County Commission condemns Backcountry Fee 3/25/13
Swain County Commission Condemns Backcountry Fee by Unanimous Vote 3/13/13
Lawsuit Filed Against the NPS by SFW challenging Backcountry Fee 3/02/13
Carolina Public Press Story about fee 2/15/13
Chronology of documented misrepresentations used to justify the fee here
11/28/12 Congressman Duncan asks Sugarlands to answer questions about this fee. See letter Here
FAT MAN IS LAUNCHED, SFW CHALLENGES NPS ON MULTIPLE ACTIONS. SEE LETTER HERE
Summary of Meeting Minutes between SFW and Ditmanson
Recent lobbying efforts with Duncan and others
SFW will meet with Superintendent Ditmanson on 5/31 at Park HQ
More Evidence of Ditmanson's arrogance and disregard of public concerns HERE
Sign Our Letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar about Smokies Leadership Failure
Ditmanson receives approval from Washington to implement backcountry tax, fight begins for real now. 3/06/12
RESULTS OF PUBLIC COMMENTS FINALLY AVAILABLE HERE 1/21/2012
National Parks Traveler Magazine Article, 2/13/2012
Update: Sugarlands Stalls release of public comments on backcountry fee after request by Atlanta Regional Office 12/23/11
National Media attention sheds light on Smokies attempts to hide public comments. Here
Follow daily developments here
A new article in the Knoxville News Sentinel shows Smokies visits on the decline month after month. Is this a solution?
The Southern Forest Watch Alliance is proud to announce the support of noted author and Smokies backpacker, Johnny Molloy. Molloy, who has penned 44 outdoor books, most notably, Trial by Trail: Backpacking in the Smoky Mountains is considered the literary “coming of age” work on the Smokies backcountry.
"That Great Smoky Mountains National Park does not charge an entrance fee is a point of pride for this native Tennessean. And that the park shall remain “forever free”, means forever free and not until park personnel decide they need money for something. Why don't they put quarter slots on the bathroom doors at park visitor centers? How about a fee for bicycling Cades Cove? How about a fee for entering an historic building? We know the answer. The public would become outraged. Instead, they are targeting backcountry users because they can; the permitting system provides the venue for general revenue generation.” Johnny Molloy November 7, 2011
Johnny is one of two noted Smokies Authors who have come out adamantly against this Backcountry Tax. No one is more synonymous with fly fishing in the Smokies than North Carolina Resident and retired Professor, Dr. Jim Casada. Casada's book, Fly Fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park: An Insider's Guide to a Pursuit of Passion has long been considered the bible for Smokies anglers and his work with the Smoky Mountain Field School underscores his lifelong love of the Park. As a noted outdoor writer with books too numerous to mention Casada was first to call out the Sugarlands for their “solution in search of a problem” Jim's work to expose the hypocrisy of this absurd and unfair fee proposal continues on a daily basis.
Stop this Proposed Backcountry Tax Please Act Now
"But there is a second danger, a danger from without I hope, for example, that one hundred years from now the Great Smoky National Park will still belong in practice, as well as in theory, to the people of a free nation. I hope it will not belong to them in theory alone and that in practice the ownership of this park will not be in the hands of some strange kind of government puppet subject to an overseas overlord.
I hope the use of it will not be confined to people coming hither on government specified days and on government directed tours. I hope the trees will not be slaughtered by the axe in order that a government may conduct wars of aggression against other nations. I hope that roads and paths and trails will still be built in the cause of the liberty of recreation and not confined to the ulterior purposes of a war machine controlled by an individual or an oligarchy." President Franklin D. Roosevelt Great Smoky Mountains National Park Dedication speech. 9/2/1940
There are no facilities in the Smokies Backcountry. No bathrooms, picnic tables or water fountains exist. Just a spot on the ground. We want to keep it that way, not "improved" by the Government.
Here, Superintendent Ditmanson can't wait to accept a gift from generous Smokies donors. A free visitor center? Thank you! Guess that means I'd better tax some backpackers.
http://www.nps.gov/grsm/parkmgmt/upload/BC-Reservation-Restructuring-Proposal.pdf
The Park’s justification centers on the backcountry being overcrowded, yet their statistics on campers belie this. Backcountry camping peaked in the 1990s and has decline dramatically since that time, leveling out in recent years at under 80,000 total camper nights annually. Take, for example, a printout from the Park’s own figures for a typical recent year. It shows a total of 72,907 camper nights for 108 campsites. That comes out to 675 campers per site for a full year, or less than two people per night. That’s hardly overcrowded, and the figures would show that the Park is misleading the public in even worse fashion if you remove Mt. Leconte and Appalachian Trail shelters. Over half of backcountry campsites averaged less than ONE CAMPER PER NIGHT. Chart
Public Comments regarding the fee proposal were limited and Smokies Administration have attempted to stonewall a private citizen's request to have access to that data despite a Freedom of Information Act Request. The NPS response was to attach a fee for the public comments submitted via email to the tune of $1200. They know the response is overwhelmingly negative, so they wish to keep it to themselves.
Backlogged Backcountry Reservation System?:
Heavily reliant upon wonderful volunteers, the park has not issued any calls for additional help to man phones in the backcountry office. In fact, they are turning away volunteers in droves. Just ask how many respondents they had to turn away who volunteered for training to adopt a backcountry campsite in the Spring. Presently the backcountry office is only manned a few hours per day. Guess Ditmanson doesn't trust locals to handle that job anymore.
Recreation.gov seems to have some political clout. Owned by Active.com, a CANADIAN company, they are more than ready to outsource Smokies backcountry camping reservations through concession. What do they know about our mountains? Apparently, according to Ditmanson, a considerable amount. Enough to entrust them with all reservations and "trip planning" whatever that entails. Interested in how Recreation.gov will affect your future trips to the Smokies? Try calling their reservation line and see how long you wait to speak with a real person. Forget last minute weekend trips, now you will have to book 72 hours in advance. Interesting enough, the few primary pro fee people are those with pecuniary ties to the park in the form of present concession contracts that are dependent upon Ditmanson's approval for continued business operations within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
As Jim Casada pointed out, This is a solution in search of a problem, a Smokies Smokescreen. How much more does this administration need? Would that be tolerated in the private sector? Your business drops off after a huge infusion of cash that you spend like a drunken sailor and your solution? Institute a brand new entrance fee. Article
There is a misconception that these fees will go to "help the park". If your idea of "helping the park" includes hiring two more law enforcement officers who will, most likely, end up driving crown victorias to DUI checkpoints since the backcountry is virtually abandoned, then yes, it will. There is no provision for any other use of the collected fees. This article shows that entrance fees decrease visitation to public lands. Is this a good idea in today's climate of obesity and depression.
the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands
Tennessee has TWO Congressman on this committee. Which one is your representative?
Phone: (202) 225-3271
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