pnichols wrote:
Dan,
How would boondocking fees be collected?
Boondock campers can of course be all over the place in the wilderness, with several different routes to get to some of these areas. If there already aren't enough rangers out there now, I can't see rangers being able to track down anywhere near all the boondockers who might be spread out all over the place so that fees could be collected on the spot. Wouldn't all possible entrance points have to be gated and manned to collect boondocker fees? What about 4X4 RV boondockers who could sneak into many areas without even using a legitimate entrance point?
It seems to me that there could be so much getting around the fees that it would be more hassle than it would be worth it to even try and collect them .... except from us honest boondock campers who would always pay them, as usual, while at the same time thousands of others would not be paying them. Probably the "undesirables" that mess up the camping sites would still be getting away with it at no significant cost to themselves.
I agree. I've said it a few dozen times, I've never seen a BLM Ranger in the wild. I don't think it would be aimed at us but at the people who use the BLM campgrounds. Hell, I'm surrounded by BLM and AZ state land. Am I going to have to pass a checkpoint every time I come home? That said, I do buy AZ State Trust permits every year just to help out a little. As far as I know, I've never camped on AZ Trust land.
LS
