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Access fee brings protest Jim Craven photo Young and old, conservative and liberal stand their ground By PAUL FATTIG Grants Pass resident Margo Thomas, 70, had never participated in a public protest until Saturday. But the law-abiding hiker has had enough. Carrying a sign reading, "Forest Fees? Take a hike!," she was among more than two dozen people in Medford taking part in a nationwide day of protest against the national forest trail pass fees. "I like to hike, and my children and grandchildren like to hike," she said. "We should not have to pay this fee. This amounts to double taxation. We�re already paying this in our income tax on April 15." What they are upset about is the U.S. Forest Service�s Northwest Forest Pass, which sells for $5 a day or $30 a year. The pass allows the user to park his or her vehicle at selected trailheads and other sites. Established by Congress as an experimental program in 1996 to raise funds for thebudget, it was implemented in 1998. It is scheduled to expire on Sept. 30, 2001. However, opponents say there is an effort in Congress to make the program permanent. In an attempt to stop the program, opponents have started boycotting vendors who sell the passes. Some vendors have stopped selling the passes; others say they will continue providing them. Forest Service officials say they will continue the program as directed by Congress. During the protest at Poplar Drive and Highway 62 on Saturday � one of 35 scheduled nationwide by the Free Our Forests group � motorists continually honked in support. "We have young and old folks, conservatives and liberals � nobody wants to pay this new tax," said protest organizer Scott Morrell, of Medford, an employee at Southern Oregon University. "A walk in the woods is not a recreational experience we should have to purchase from the government," he said. "This whole trail fee issue raises concern about free public access and social equity," he added. "Five dollars a day or $30 a year is too much when we are already paying income taxes to support our land management agencies." However, he noted he is not opposed to paying campground fees. "We�re talking about paying to hike on trails and foot paths into our back country," he said. "We have a problem with that. It is excluding people from their own heritage." Applegate Valley resident Norm Young, a software developer who likes to hike, was adamantly opposed to the trail pass program. "My primary concern is that we have to have a permit to go out on our own public land," Young said. "It�s not so much the money," he added. "But there is a concern there may be an ongoing escalation of the price. We�re starting out at $30 (a year). But the history shows prices tend to go up." Some national forests are already charging fees simply to drive into the forest, Young said. "On those forests, you have to pay the fee just to be there," he said. "My fear is that�s where we are heading. You will have to have that sticker on your car no matter what you are doing in the forest. We need to change this before it gets to that point." Protester Ingrid Mauer, of Grants Pass, found a ticket on her car last year for parking in the Siskiyou National Forest. "I didn�t pay the ticket," said Mauer. "We shouldn�t have to pay $5 just to park our cars and hike." Applegate Valley resident Dick Cody, 57, agreed. "I think the federal government is already into our pockets enough," said Cody, a retired agriculture worker. Local resident Bob Alsenz, 72, got angry after he discovered he had to pay a fee at his favorite fishing spot on Applegate Lake. "Pretty soon it�ll get to where I can�t walk out into my back yard without paying a fee," said Alsenz. "We�ve already paid our taxes � the forests belong to the people," said Ashland resident Ben Krieg, 80, who has spent years volunteering on local public forestlands. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA