The US Forest Servcie Department is seeking an end to the Senior Discount Pass and the Disabled Access Pass for next year.

If you were looking forward to spending your golden years  parking your camper at national forest campgrounds for some inexpensive camping? Might be time to redo your budget.

According to a Press Release from “Oregon Environmental News” the Forest Service Department wants to end the 50 % discount for the disabled and Senior campers at the parks now run by Concessionaires.

The argument that the discount ends up making the cost to the other campers increase to cover this loss is now going to bring the end to the passes.

I find this very disturbing.  It is hard enough to budget for camping expenses as it is and now with this increase we will be doing most of our camping  at a seasonal site where we can get the most for our money.

The Forest Service’s campsites that are managed by the private concessionaires were required to continue to give the discount to seniors and disabled and honor their passes as part of their contracts.

The Forest Service’s agency,  this week filed a notice in the Federal Register proposing to reduce to 10 percent the minimum discount that private concessionaires are required to offer to those groups.

A quote from Kitty Benzar, “No more special honors, no more special breaks,” president of the Western Slope No-Fee Coalition which opposes fees for public lands. “Pay up or stay home now applies to everyone.”

The report is that  there are likely as many as hundreds of thousands of pass-holders nationwide, though the agency doesn’t have figures for how many passes are active.

Camping is not the same as it was  a few decades ago, when the Forest Service employees we knew were the employees  in green uniforms were in charge of the campground.  Not like today where the campground you stay at is run by a private corporation.  They report that there are over 150 such separate contracts.  Meaning that about 90% of the reservable camping sites in the national forests system now are privately managed.  They do however report that the other oh, about 10% the passes would be accepted.   Who knows we may even get a report of which camping spots they are some day.

These corporations have been trying for years to  eliminate  the mandatory discount, arguing that recent federal laws no longer require them to offer it.  And with the baby boomers coming of age they further argue that the discounts are too steep and unreasonable.

I remember taking my children camping and the overnight fees were a manageable $3.00 a night (I know I am really showing my age now).  Now we pay $19.00 – $ 24.00 depending on the day of the week and the services available.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Seniors to lose camping discounts with US Forest Service proposal (gadling.com)
• Ballot Measure to Save State Parks Submitted to State (laist.com)
• Advice for disabled travellers (telegraph.co.uk)
• Bills would push more national forest thinning (sfgate.com)

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the RSS feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader.

BLOGbalB2B Marketplace

• Salvation Army Kettle Upgrade! Image by turtlemom4bacon via FlickrI guess it really is a sign of the times. The Salvation Army is now installing credit card swiping machines in their kettles. According to an article: Salvation Army Debuts Credit Card Kettles They are a booming success. The article reports that they have found that......
• Camping Fun- Even if it Rains Image by CapnOats via Flickr A camping trip preparation should always include the possibility of camping during wet weather, you can plan in advance and still enjoy the trip. If you follow some important camping tips, you can avoid getting into unpleasant situations. If you wait for a perfect weather......
• I Miss Camp Already I have only been home about 2 weeks now and I miss camp already. The camp we have is not like real camping. I have a 30ft, 5th wheel on a permanent site in a privately owned campgrounds just on the outskirts of the Adirondack Mountains in Upstate New York.......
• Fall Tent Camping If you are properly prepared you can enjoy Fall Camping even if you are tent camping.  The tents they make now are very different from the tents we had when I was younger.  We live in a state that you are guaranteed to get rain at least one day you......
• Hunting Camp-One Week To Go Image by evster_S5 via FlickrHunting season opens next weekend here in Upstate New York. The little camper is moved onto the hunting land. Also a large tarp is staked down over the camper to help keep it from leaking. It's only a 1960, 18 foot camper so it needs to......

• Hiddenbrooke Golf Course Hiddenbrooke Golf Course is located in: Vallejo, CA Phone:  (707) 558-1140  Website: http://www.hiddenbrookegolf.com/ Course History: The legendary golfing great Arnold Palmer designed this course and it offers a wonderful challenge for all players. From the dramatic changes in elevation to the tricky greens, you'll have loads of fun at this......
• Should You Use Credit Repair Companies? It’s all the rage right now to try to get your credit score up so that you qualify for lower interest rates on loans. What we are seeing is a growth of businesses that are promoting themselves as experts in the field of credit repair. What is there about......
• Say it with me.."No, I don't need more junk mail nor credit cards" Ok, I know you NEEDED that 9th credit card that just showed up in the mail...I mean, how could you turn it down when they offered you 21% interest for 12 years, a free Geo Metro, and a trip to Siberia? Everyone I know gets offers daily in their mailbox......
• Petaluma Marina, Petaluma, CA Petaluma Marina is located in: Petaluma, CA Phone: None listed. Boat Launch: Yes, the marina does offer a boat launch facility. Launch Fees: Day Use: $2.00 Season Pass - June 1 through May 31: $25.00 Senior Pass - Sixty-two (62+) and Older - Season: $12.50 Berth Rates: Single Finger......
• Badger Pass Ski Resort, Yosemite National Park, CA Badger Pass Ski Resort is located in: Yosemite National Park, CA Phone: (801) 559-4884 Website: http://www.yosemitepark.com/BadgerPass.aspx About the Resort: If you are planning to stay in the Yosemite area or you are just looking for a great way to spend the weekend, Badger Pass Ski Resort is definitely a place......