The Economy and the Adventure Pass

In this time of almost unparalleled national wealth, Congress has informed us that there is no longer enough money available to adequately fund the Forest Service. Thus it has become necessary to impose user fees in the form of the infamous Adventure Pass on all of the hikers, bicyclists and picnickers who venture into our forests.

That’s odd. Sixty years ago, at the height of the Great Depression, when the nation was plunged into economic turmoil and one out of three wage earners could find no work, Congress was able to provide an adequate level of funding for the Forest Service.

Adds up kind of strangely, doesn’t it? I’m afraid this says more about the character and integrity of today’s Congress than it does about the nation’s ability to support its national forests.

ED HOPKINS

Fillmore