Posted by David Sherman on Monday, August 02, 2004 at 8:33PM :
In Reply to: Re: Public campgrounds - scam posted by Hollywood Lonnie on Monday, August 02, 2004 at 7:25PM :
The amount of money they collect from these permits is insignificant compared to the federal budget and even to the cost of enforcing the permit system. I don't know how they do it in Cal but in Washington the FS contracts out the permit selling to a private contractor who remits a portion of the gross to the FS. But who enforces the law? USFS law enforcement officers. Who pays them? Not the parking permit contractor, that's for sure.
And don't be too quick to slam the backpackers -- I've noticed that the "Permit Required" signs are disappearing off of hiker-only trailheads about as fast as the FS can put them up. My FS friends tell me that most of the on-the-ground FS people think the permit system stinks, and they don't know of anybody who has been prosecuted for ignoring a citation. For one thing, the citation must be issued to a person, and the fact that the vehicle is registered to a particular person is not sufficient evidence that they committed a crime. They could have just lent the car to a scoff-law friend.
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