We'd have to buy and display a pass. The rangers would range, checking for passes. Folks who had no pass would get a ticket. This idea would not work unless the forests can hire more rangers.
Yes, there would be scofflaws. They would go without a pass and take their chances, as do folks who fail to pay for annual DMV license plate stickers, as do the folks who drive without insurance or valid driver's licenses. The fact that enforcement would be imperfect is not a sufficient reason to avoid all regulation. As they say, the best is the enemy of the good.
Is this a bit of a hassle? Yes. But it would help in reducing the abuse of public land by careless people, wouldn't it? I guess that is the key question. If my suggestion would accomplish nothing, it is a bad idea, by definition. If it would cost a fortune to implement, it is a bad idea. If it would bar all lower-income folks, it is a bad idea.
But there can be a balance between costs and benefits, I think. Otherwise, the government will someday protect the forests by simply excluding us, at any price. That would be tragic, at least to me.
