Implementation of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement ACT PDF Download

Author: U. S. Department U.S. Department of the Interior
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781512159080
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 140

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Book Description
The Federal lands recreation enhancement act (rea) allows federal land management agencies to provide quality recreation experiences for hundreds of millions of visitors every year to some of america's most scenic, iconic, awe-inspiring, historical, and culturally rich lands and resources. rea authorizes five agencies to collect and expend recreation fees on lands they manage: the Department of the interior's (Doi's) Bureau of land management (Blm), Bureau of reclamation (reclamation), national park service (nps), and U.s. Fish and Wildlife service (FWs), and the U.s. Department of agriculture's Forest service (UsFs). These agencies use and leverage recreation fees to implement thousands of projects to enhance public safety, maintain recreation sites, provide eye-opening educational experiences, build informational wayside exhibits, fund interpretive programs, and offer a wide range of recreational and cultural opportunities.

Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 72

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Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Subcommittee on National Parks
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 40

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Author: Lauren Newton
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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The Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (REA) enables the United States Forest Service (USFS), along with other public land management agencies, to charge user fees at recreation sites to support user-generated cost recovery for federal recreation programs. The USFS implements policies as a decentralized agency using both formal procedures and informal agency norms, along with staff discretion in decision making. Previous research suggests that recreation fees could have disproportionate impacts on low-income users and potentially displace visitors, which presents equity concerns with recreation fee implementation. Using interview and pre-existing program monitoring data and reports, this study examined the USFS's implementation of the recreation fee program under the REA at four national forests to (1) understand how staff implement the recreation fee program, and (2) explore staff perspectives on the impacts of recreation fee program implementation. This study found that during implementation of the recreation fee program, USFS staff (1) prioritize similar policy objectives to those in the USFS Recreation Fee Manual, but lack capacity to achieve objectives in full, (2) use formal and informal mechanisms during implementation, however experiences with these mechanisms vary, and (3) must make tradeoffs with limited funding and information, which are exacerbated with rising visitation. Staff perspectives on impacts of the recreation fee program include: (1) impacts to the organization itself which includes staff, site, and financial impacts, (2) visitor experiences are negatively impacted by a negative perception of recreation fees due to ineffective communication, (3) low public engagement in the fee program may be dependent on local demographics, and (4) displacement can occur but is not necessarily a negative impact. USFS implementation of the REA does not distort policy. Rather staff lack the financial resources to achieve the policy objectives in full and the outcomes of implementation exacerbate inequities in outdoor recreation. Increasing appropriated dollars with equitable allocation and improving communication and efforts to include underrepresented groups in USFS recreation processes can reduce inequitable outcomes of REA implementation.

Author:
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 9781422309803
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 124

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Author: United States Senate
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781707925551
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 40

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Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act: hearing before the Subcommittee on National Parks of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, One Hundred Ninth Congress, first session, to review the National Park Service's implementation of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, February 17, 2005.

Author: United States. Congress
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781984980212
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 70

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Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act : hearing before the Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, One Hundred Ninth Congress, first session, to receive testimony on the implementation of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, P.L. 108-447, by the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior, October 26, 2005.

Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Subcommittee on National Parks
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Electronic books
Languages : en
Pages : 34

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Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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The Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (REA in P.L. 108-447) established a new recreation fee program for five federal agencies -- the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), National Park Service (NPS), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the Department of the Interior (DOI) and the Forest Service (FS) in the Department of Agriculture (USDA). The law authorizes these agencies to charge fees at recreation sites through December 8, 2014. It provides for different kinds of fees, criteria for charging fees, public participation in determining fees, and the establishment of a national recreation pass. The agencies can use the collections without further appropriation. Most of the money is for improvements at the collecting site, such as operation, maintenance, and capital improvement projects. This program supersedes, and seeks to improve upon, the Recreational Fee Demonstration Program. Recreation fees have been controversial for decades, and there continues to be a difference of opinion as to the need for recreation fees and how fee programs should operate. The agencies are in transition to the new recreation fee program. The Recreation Fee Leadership Council, comprised of senior DOI and USDA policy officials, is overseeing agency implementation of the new fee program through an implementation plan with short-, medium-, and long-term goals. Some of these have been accomplished, while others are ongoing. The Fee Council also established working groups on key provisions of the new law, related to fee collections and expenditures, communications, Recreation Resource Advisory Committees (Recreation RACs) and public participation, and passes. The BLM and FS have decided to collaborate in the use of RACs, which will make recommendations on fee sites and fees. Some of the existing RACs have begun meeting to consider fee issues. With regard to passes, a new national recreation pass became available in January 2007. The agencies have issued policy guidance on implementing REA, including through an Implementation Handbook (June 2006) with interagency guidance on aspects of REA. Further, the agencies have conducted analyses of the extent to which sites charging fees under the former Fee Demo Program meet the criteria and prohibitions of the REA for charging entry, standard amenity, and expanded amenity fees. The NPS and FWS made little change in fees and fee sites as a result of the new law. The BLM made some adjustments, while the FS made the most changes, dropping fees at 437 sites. Reclamation has decided to implement the fee program in one or a few areas. Congress is overseeing agency implementation efforts. Hearings in the 109th Congress focused on the development of the new national recreation pass as well as on implementation generally. In May 2006, the agencies submitted to Congress the First Triennial Report on the recreation fee program. The Government Accountability Office released a report in September 2006 on program implementation, with recommendations for program improvement.

Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Natural Resources. Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : National parks and reserves
Languages : en
Pages : 80

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