My Letter to the White Mountain National Forest

There are new proposals for passes in the White Mountains. People can comment on them until mid-September. I disagree with many of the changes and wrote a letter to them. To see the proposals click below

http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/whitemountain/passes-permits/recreation/?cid=stelprdb5281515

If you feel strongly for or against their proposals, I do not know if your opinion (or mine) will do any good, but it might make you feel better to have your voice heard

Hello, 

I'd like to weigh in on your proposals for changing the fees to the White Mountain National Forest. I respectfully disagree with many of them.

1. I do not understand why you would make the proposed trailheads free? Places like East Pond and Greeley Ponds are tourist meccas. First off, tourists (and not real hikers) should have to pay to hike the same as a dedicated person should who hikes out to the Bonds or Passaconaway. It seems to me that if you are going to charge for trailheads, there should be a fee at all trailheads. The exception  would be picnic areas and waysides. I don't think a family on vacation should have to pay for a day use pass to eat some peanut butter sandwiches for thirty minutes at a Wayside. However, I see you plan on charging for Zealand picnic area use.

2. Although, you use the reason as cutting administrative costs as a reason to eliminate the weekly pass, I feel it is unfair to folks that go up for a week in the summer. I go up to the Whites for a weekend multiple times a year so this does not effect me. However, I have had years where I only got to visit one week for the summer. How can you justify making a family pay for a yearly pass who is only up there from Saturday to Saturday. Please reconsider this option

."Realigning the White Mountain Pass lowers overhead and operating expenses freeing up more funds to support recreation facilities."(copied form your website) This seems wrong to me, as weekly passes are just a piece of paper like any other pass. Having weekly passes, literally costs you nothing. I would understand if you raised the price to ten dollars but to delete them all together really is unfair to a vacationer.

3. Lastly, I admit I go to your national forest as often as I can. I usually sleep ten nights a year in my tent in the mountains. I love it there. That said, your proposed fee hike to thirty dollars will put you at the same price as Yellowstone. It seems a little off to charge the same for a yearly pass as one of the greatest national parks in the world. Just something to think about. That said, I will still pay the annual fee.

My disagreement is really with the first two proposals. If I have to pay to hike Middle Sugarloaf or a real mountain like South Twin, then others should have to pay to hike their trail. On the other hand, if I get to use the mountains for weekends all summer, a struggling family from Manchester shouldn't  have to pay for the same pass as me for a week in the mountains.

Thank you for your time, but please reconsider these proposals. I think a much better way to make some money would be to ticket violators at trailheads without passes and to check on people at the dispersed camping sites on Gale River Road and North Twin Road and make sure they do not stay longer than the allotted time. Some of which I believe were there all summer. Making people pay at the more popular trails as they already do seems to make sense to me. The more popular trails such as East Pond and Sawyer Pond are the ones that require the most maintenance  because of litter and such

Sincerely, 

Nick Pacelli