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Sedona City Council Position on USFS Red Rock Pass

Sedona AZ (June 15, 2011)-On June 14, 2011, the Sedona Arizona City Council voted to adopt the following position on the Red Rock Pass Fee Program in response to the U.S. Forest Service’s request for a formal position on the Program.

  • Support the purpose of the Program,
  • Recognize the benefits the program has provided to the Sedona area during the time this program has been in effect,
  • Understands the need for dependable funding the Program provides to maintain and protect the natural, cultural and recreational values in the forest lands in and around Sedona,
  • Believe the Program and what it accomplishes is important in preserving the beauty that surrounds Sedona and is the base of the City’s economy,
  • Requests that the Forest Service continue the program in a manner that is consistent with the law as currently interpreted,
  • Ensure that the Program is affordable and easy to use by visitors and residents.

The Sedona City Council chose not to recommend a specific option from the two final scenarios the Forest Service presented, but rather, asked that the Program be designed to address the issues and goals mentioned above. 

The U.S. Forest Service was sued and lost in court when it tried to enforce collection of Red Rock desert user fees. USFS has been trying to reinstate a fee based park user program but its attempts have been met with organized citizen resistance.

Sedona City Council

9 Comments

  1. Warren says:

    The Moronic Convergence (AKA Sedona City Council) strikes again. Presented with evidence that the FS is engaging in flim-flam accounting (renaming categories of income so as to skirt GOA guidelines), misleading the public, and presenting pass “scenarios” in clear violation of federal law, the Moronic Convergence still chose to support the FS.

  2. Facebook Comment says:

    Rj Wachl likes this story.

  3. Cindy Wilmer says:

    Sent via Facebook: If you like how the West Fork, Grasshopper, and Crescent Moon day use sites on the Coconino National Forest are operated (federal passes not accepted, federally prohibited fees being charged, high entrance fees, surly employees earning minimum wage), you’re gonna LOVE it when Recreation Resource Management runs all the AZ state parks! If this gives you nightmares, contact your STATE legislators now!

  4. Push for Privatization says:

    Push for Arizona parks privatization: (sent via Facebook)
    http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fox11az.com%2F&h=a1dc9
    A privatization push is just one of several proposals to keep Arizona’s State Parks running amid tight budget times.

  5. Nicky Karluk says:

    Sent via Facebook: Thanks for posting this, Cindy! I will write later today to our representatives. AZ needs that money, if there are fees, not a private company!

  6. Cindy Wilmer/My Opinion says:

    Stop The Tyranny of Red Rock Ranger District: An opinion of Red Rock Pass policies sent via Facebook of threatened jail time and other actions. (Visit @SedonaTimes on Facebook.com for Cindy Wilmer posts.)

    Sedona is just a small town of only 19 square miles, surrounded by majestic red rocks in every direction. Our population of roughly 10,000 “locals” live here because of the quality of life, the great community, and the amazing trails that you can hike, mountain bike, or take your horse; not to forgot miles and miles of wonderful 4×4 opportunities. (In my opinion) there is corruption, tyranny, and hostility here in Red Rock Country when it comes to the forest service, their policies, and the way they are CONTROLLING public land.

    The Red Rock Pass Recently, in a Federal case of the U.S. vs Smith, Judge Mark Aspey determined the following: • “The FLREA is an extremely comprehensive and precise statutory scheme delineating specific instances in which the public may be charged an amenity fee for use of the National Forests, and other public lands, and quite plainly prohibiting the agency from establishing any system which requires the public to pay for parking or simple access to trails or undeveloped camping sites” • “If the Forest Service’s construction of the term “area” results in the situation where a citizen is charged a fee that is clearly prohibited by the statute, i.e., to pay for parking, for general access, or camping at undeveloped sites, the enforcement of payment of the fee at the site within the “area” where such a fee is prohibited by the statute is ultra vires in that specific instance.” • “It is apparent that Mr. Smith would have not received a ticket had he not parked a vehicle, i.e., had a friend delivered him to the trailhead and retrieved him the following day. Accordingly, what Mr. Smith received was actually a ticket for parking clearly prohibited by the plain language of the statute.” • “The FLREA explicitly repealed the Fee Demo Program in order to address criticisms of that program. Nonetheless, the result in the Red Rock Ranger District of the Coconino National Forest has been to maintain the same fee system as that is in place under the Fee Demo Program.” • “…..dismissing this citation is not the death knell of the Red Rock Pass program. The record before the court reveals numerous recreational sites and locations within the Red Rock HIRA which qualify as “areas” and where charging a recreational amenity fee would not violate the other provisions of the FLREA. Assuming an individual’s recreational activities were not exempted from the uses for which no fee may be charged, requiring a Red Rock Pass for use of those areas would be appropriate.” In order for the Red Rock Ranger District to be able to charge a fee, the following conditions, MUST be met: 1. Designated developed parking. 2. A permanent toilet facility. 3. A permanent trash receptacle. 4. Interpretive sign, exhibit, or kiosk. 5. Picnic tables. 6. Security services. These conditions must be met collectively and entirely in all areas in order for the Forest Service to be able to charge for the Red Rock Pass. Currently, the only locations that have all these facilities are Grasshopper Point, Crescent Moon, and West Fork; which by strange coincidence are exempt from the Red Rock Pass due to the fact that the forest Service lazyingly has subcontracted those sites out to Recreational Resource Management, a private company that charges excessive entry fees that never even makes it back into the Forest Service’s hands due to loopholes and government bureaucracy. Since Judge Aspen’s ruling, you would think that the Red Rock Ranger District would have ceased to collect the fees for there are really no areas that the fees apply. What they are doing is quite the contrary. The Red Rock Pass is still being sold at all distribution outlets which include The Sedona Chamber of Commerce Visitor’s Center, convenience stores, grocery stores, outdoor stores, and trailhead kiosks.

    Since February, the Forest Service has been holding public meetings to discuss the viability of the Red Rock Pass. I myself have gone to two of these meetings and have found it to be a circus of government bursary. What goes on is that they speak to us, the public; but when we want to speak our concerns, we are stifled, and not given an opportunity to voice our concerns. More interestingly, since going to the meeting and openly voicing my opinion against the Red Rock Pass, the Forest Service has taken a point to harass me while out on the trail. More on that in the second part of this.

    I have spoken to the director of the Sedona Chamber of Commerce about this and was simply told that they will continue to sell the Red Rock Pass because they believe in it, regardless of the current legal questions because they do not wish to cause waves with the Red Rock Ranger District. What this means is that the Forest Service aka Red Rock Ranger District is knowingly collecting tens of thousands of dollars in fees to the unknowing public, tourists who are simply ignorant to the laws of the area.

    We must stop the tyranny of the forest service and force them to obey the laws set forth, but instead being a government agency, they are just able to rape the public.

    Outfitter-Guide Permits Sedona Hiking Adventures was born out of my personal passion of hiking out in nature among the trees, red rocks, mountains, wildlife, and clear blue skies. When I started my company in 2004, I knew I would be good at this because I simply love the outdoors and being among nature. A lot has changed since then and I have learned much about doing business here in red rock country. In order to meet the changes in my business and keep my tours fresh and new, I am now operating as Sedona Red Rock Adventures which I feel expresses the greater diversity in the tours that I offer. For now, hiking is just a small part of the unique tours that I offer my clients. I have learned that according to local laws set fourth by the National Forest Service, I as a guide may not operate within the local nation forest land and earn a living without a forest service permit. There are several problems with this, and to be brief the forest service is not giving out new permits and they are biased towards the big companies when it comes to allowing outfitter guides to earn a living within the local nation forest. I as a company have been looking into getting a permit since 2006, but every year that I inquire, I am told to come back again next year. At the time of my writing this, I am being told not to expect anything to happen until 2013.

    For me, I simply love to hike. I love to be out on the land. I love to explore. I love the excitement of reaching new summits, or the tranquility found deep within some of Sedona’s remote canyons. It’s almost a spiritual experience to be out in nature atop an enormous red rock with nothing else but the clear blue sky, the birds singing, and the simple feeling of solitude of being one with nature. I love Sedona, the red rocks and everything about this place that I am so fortunate and grateful to call home. And it brings me great joy to be able to share this sacred place with visitors from all across the globe. Over the years, I’ve learned that life isn’t simply about the money you make, but the quality of your life. Living here in Sedona, doing what I love and sharing it with visitors truly makes me happy and gives me a sense of gratitude towards the world, our mother Earth, and the people who choose me to take them out on the sacred land that envelopes the red rocks and hidden canyons of Sedona.

    Recently, forest service intercepted some of my “clients” while out on the trail, which has resulted in me getting a forest service citation for guiding without a permit. When I went to my preliminary hearing, John Nelson, the forest service law enforcement liaison to the prosecuting attorney told me that he was seeking jail time because it was my second forest service citation.

    Jail time, this couldn’t be more absurd!

    The first citation I got was while working for Sun Country Adventures / El Portal; and at the time I was under the impression that I was operating within their permit, mainly because the owner refused to show me his permits. If there are any other small guide companies in Sedona, who like myself, do this not for the money, but because they love nature and enjoy sharing it with the public, I beckon you to join me in my fight against the forest service.

    Alone we are nothing, but together, as a community of like-minded people, we are strong. I do not seek to be imprisoned for doing what I love, but at the moment that is precisely what the forest service is seeking. Please join me, and lets put our heads and passion together.

    I am preparing to file a class action lawsuit against the Red Rock Ranger District, but need the support of the public and other guides to make it happen. Lets stop the tyranny of Red Rock Ranger district now. Questions to keep in mind….. • How is it that Pink Jeep has an exclusive right to not only go to Hononki Indian Ruin site, but is also the same company to have a site host there? Would that be a conflict in interests? • How is it that certain companies can hold hiking permits, not using them, when companies like myself would do anything for one? Isn’t the Forest Service needing to generate revenue? • When the last class action lawsuit was brought against the forest service and Pink Jeep Tours, why was Ken Anderson simply relocated out of the district? • Why was Heather Provincio given a promotion after 8 years of doing virtually nothing here? • How is it that some tour companies are able to get outfitter guide permits all across the state, but Red Rock Ranger District will not even consider their applications?

    This is my case against the Forest Service: 1. Judge is supposed to be impartial. Yet judge, prosecutor, and forest service all paid by the federal government. 2. Been inquiring about getting an Outfitter Guide Permit Since 2004. a. At first was told that no permits were being issued because no one comes to Sedona to go hiking. b. Then told that no new permits were being issued. c. From 2006 to present have been told that no permits are being issued until environmental impact studies have been completed. Since then have been told to wait “another year” each time I subsequently ask. d. At no time has the US Forest Service given me the opportunity to apply for a permit since my initial inquiry. 3. According to the federal government, forest service land belongs to every US citizen, which means it belongs to you, me, – everyone. 4. According to the US constitution, I have the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” 5. The US also provides for “free enterprise” and allows every citizen to live the American dream which includes ownership of your own business. 6. It is my God-given right to recreate and show people this beautiful land that makes up red rock country. 7. Doing nothing illegal (haven’t seen any laws to show the contrary), I have the right to recreate and accept money for my time. 8. I am a single person on two feet on the land, my impact is minimum. I pick up trash when on the trails, advise hikers who are lost, protect the forest when visitors are vandalizing rocks or smoking in places they shouldn’t. 9. The Forest Service allows the big companies (Pink Jeep and Red Rock Jeep) in town to hold on to hiking permits that they aren’t utilizing just to keep small tour operators out of the market. 10. There is an obvious unfair favoritism by the forest service to make things easier and more accommodating for the larger companies, and making things for small tour operators more difficult than they should be. 11. A recent court decision, Judge Aspey determined that the Red Rock Ranger District cannot charge for a Red Rock Pass unless 6 conditions are met. Yet, the Red Rock Ranger district continued to charge for these passes at kiosks at trailheads with limited or no services and the passes are being sold at all pass resellers in the area. How may I be accountable to the forest service when they themselves are blatantly collecting far more money than I for something they were told was not allowed to be done? 12. They are generating tens of thousands of dollars in red rock pass fees that they are not entitled to collect. Yet I am taking a few people on the land, acting as an ambassador to the land, and I am being told that my actions are illegal. 13. Since attending the first red rock pass meeting in February 2011 and openly voicing my opinion against the red rock pass, the forest service employees taken to harassing me and those with me while on the trail. 14. Officer O’Neil (a forest service law enforcement officer) in fact detained me at 9 pm at night on Birch Blvd, threatening to take me to jail if I didn’t tell him where I lived. Why is he stalking me on public streets within the residential area of Sedona? 15. When getting the ticket for having Summit off his lease, I was told that they were giving me this ticket “because they couldn’t give me a ticket for anything else (implying that they wanted to give me a ticket for guiding without a permit)”. 16. On one occasion, an officer said that “he couldn’t help not being able to give me a ticket for outfitter guiding without a permit because I apparently coach my clients to lie”. This accusation is a slanderous remark, with no proof, and total harassment by the forest service. 17. On another occasion Officer Fleming almost took me away in handcuffs after I disagreed with her for bring up irrelevant details of my vehicle being vandalized 2 years prior, while on a hike with friends. 18. One ranger told me that he thought the outfitter guide permits were a pain, and he wished that the forest service would eliminate allowing outfitter guides to operate in Sedona because it made his job harder. How can this attitude be a fair representation and unbiased authority to safeguard our forests? 19. I am not the only Sedona guide being unfairly excluded from obtaining an outfitter guide permit. Countless other people are suffering the same unfair biased by the forest service. 20. Currently there are no permitted companies to conduct climbing tours in Sedona. There is a demand for climbing in red rock country, yet the one company who has permits for climbing in nearly every other national forest across the state is being excluded from getting a permit in red rock country.

    See More @SedonaTimes Page: ‎40 people “like” Cindy Wilmer’s post to date.

  7. Public Invited to Red Rock Visitor Center says:

    The 15-member Council advises the Secretary of the Interior, through the BLM, on a variety of planning and management issues associated with public land management in Arizona. In conformance with the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (Title 16 of the United States Code, Part 6801 et seq.), the U.S. Forest Service …(FS) will present a proposal for a change to the Red Rock Pass Program.

    The RRAC Work Group will review the fee proposal and provide feedback on the information and analysis provided and/or proposal modifications.

    The FS plans to bring the proposal to the full Arizona RAC at their next meeting in August. The RRAC Work Group’s role is to hear the FS fee proposal and public comments and determine if the proposal is ready for consideration by the full RRAC or if additional work is needed. The meeting will begin with a welcome and introduction of the BLM RRAC Work Group and participating FS attendees. A field trip to the Red Rock Pass Program area will follow, and the day will conclude with a presentation and discussion of the Red Rock Pass fee proposal at the Red Rock Visitor Center.

    Members of the public are welcome to attend the meeting and field trip. However, the participating public must provide personal transportation for the field trip which is expected to run from 8:45 a.m.-1:45 p.m. The meeting is expected to run from 2-5:30 p.m. A public comment period is scheduled from 3:30-4:15 p.m. for any interested
    members of the public who wish to address the RRAC Working Group on the Red Rock Pass fee proposal.

    Written comments may be sent to the RRAC Work Group at the BLM address listed above or by e-mail at ASOWEB_AZ@blm.gov for use at the RRAC Work Group meeting. All comments addressing this meeting will be shared with the BLM Arizona RAC. A final meeting agenda will be available two weeks prior to the meeting and posted on the BLM RAC Web site at: http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en/res/rac.html. Individuals who need special assistance such as sign language interpretation or other reasonable accommodations should contact the BLM RAC Coordinator listed above no later than two weeks before the start of the meeting.

    Under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, the RAC has been designated as the RRAC, and has the authority to review all BLM and FS recreation fee proposals in Arizona.

  8. Cindy Wilmer says:

    Wednesday, June 29 · 8:00am – 5:30pm (day is agendized) Location: Red Rock Visitor Center, 8375 SR 179, South of VOC. Please come out to express your opinion!

  9. Where are YOU? says:

    You still have time! Where will you be at 3:30 PM?

    Get out to the Red Rock Visitor Center, TODAY, south of VOC on Highway 179, for the 3:30 PM on public comment portion of this Red Rock USFS day!

    Say your piece, bring a letter stating your position, but get involved. Tell your government what you expect to be provided and at what cost. Stop being a disinterested by-stander and take control of your environment. Lap Dogs are a dime a dozen; Stand up and be heard. Tell them to stop making us pay for our own backyard use! Thank you for this opportunity, A.L.

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