CAMPING ON GOVERNMENT (OUR) LAND

[boydrkb]

Escapees News Bulletin
by Jim Koca, Advocacy Director

As some Escapees are aware, a bill has been introduced in the United States Congress, HB 5204, entitled The Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Modernization Act of 2014, which will allow fees to be collected for most of the "public land" that is controlled by the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. If the bill passes, it would allow the Federal Government to charge fees for any activity on land that we presently have access to for free. Fees could include a permit fee, day use fee, or a special use fee. There is the possibility that the bill could be attached to an appropriation bill, which would allow the bill to pass without public comment or debate.

It is time now to get involved and contact your congressman and senators where you have your domicile and let them know that HB 5204 should be defeated. In the past, public lands have been turned over to concessionaires that allowed them to charge fees or to refuse to give discounts for entering the federal lands. This bill may not pass, but don't take a chance and let the other members contact their congressman or senators. It only takes a few minutes to let the representatives that we elected know how we feel.

To find your congressman, you can go to http://www.house.gov, and for senators, you can go to http://www.senate.gov.

If you would like to review the bill yourself:
https://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/5204/text

[Water-Bug]

I agree with it being a spending problem and not a revenue problem 100%. If we were actually paying for what our government spends, we would be over taxed and our economy would crash. Politicians don't care because they plan to be out of office, when the debt becomes due.

[martipr]

sonora wrote:

hotbyte wrote:
When camping on "unimproved" land, how do you get to the spot where you are going to camp? Do you just drive through the forest or across the desert?

Yes that is exactly what you do in many of the talked about places out west.

I pay 18.4 cents per gallon federal tax and 20 cents per gallon stae tax on gas to pay for the roads. I pay 180.00 dollars to my state (registration fee which is road use tax). That is how I get there. I pay around 50% of what I earn in taxes and fees to pay for thousands of non productive government employees. Any one who says I don't pay my way can just kiss where the sun doesn't shine.

[sonora]

SkiMore wrote:

FunnyCamper wrote:
geez, lets see. it is for the people. to be for use only from the people. as a country wide gift for the people. it is 'making' money by leases for grazing, mineral rights etc.

come on. sheeple to the max!

you can forget it 'being free' or anything else in the near future. they are putting in alternative energy applicatons on it. they are going to be 'sure' NO ONE in the future will be able to use it. all that free use land. will be 'corralled' into 'sections' by 'pay to enter'.

geez...see the light. BLM is making sure in the end they control it all.
with bucks, leases and more.

freedom. there is not any! And ya'll with some bucks in your pockets say who cares. I can afford $10 to enter. why not? I use it.

missed the whole POINT of what BLM is all about. All those in favor of paying are what scares the heck out of me in this world 🙂

I don't know the history of the BLM. Sometimes things change. All of the National Parks were free at one point. They were a gift to us. You need to pay now. Things change. Yes, they give you a lot more than the BLM. I'd hope that the yearly pass to use BLM land would be pretty cheap.

The tax base is going away and they need to find money somewhere. The politicians lower taxes on the 1% and make it possible for big corporations to do fancy accounting and not pay taxes. Vote for a change.

You will never ever be able to give our government enough money. It is a SPENDING problem, NOT a revenue problem. You are part of the problem by spreading class warfare and not focusing on the real problem.

[Water-Bug]

fla-gypsy wrote:
We are freaking doomed

I agree, but what does that have to do with camping on government land ?

[fla-gypsy]

We are freaking doomed

[SkiMore]

FunnyCamper wrote:
geez, lets see. it is for the people. to be for use only from the people. as a country wide gift for the people. it is 'making' money by leases for grazing, mineral rights etc.

come on. sheeple to the max!

you can forget it 'being free' or anything else in the near future. they are putting in alternative energy applicatons on it. they are going to be 'sure' NO ONE in the future will be able to use it. all that free use land. will be 'corralled' into 'sections' by 'pay to enter'.

geez...see the light. BLM is making sure in the end they control it all.
with bucks, leases and more.

freedom. there is not any! And ya'll with some bucks in your pockets say who cares. I can afford $10 to enter. why not? I use it.

missed the whole POINT of what BLM is all about. All those in favor of paying are what scares the heck out of me in this world 🙂

I don't know the history of the BLM. Sometimes things change. All of the National Parks were free at one point. They were a gift to us. You need to pay now. Things change. Yes, they give you a lot more than the BLM. I'd hope that the yearly pass to use BLM land would be pretty cheap.

The tax base is going away and they need to find money somewhere. The politicians lower taxes on the 1% and make it possible for big corporations to do fancy accounting and not pay taxes. Vote for a change.

[dahkota]

FunnyCamper wrote:
geez, lets see. it is for the people. to be for use only from the people.

Actually, that is the Gettysburg Address and Lincoln (not the founding fathers who wrote the Constitution) was talking about Government, not land.

The Constitution states: "The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State."

Land of the Louisiana Purchase was bought by the Federal Government. Land west of that was won in the Mexican-American War when Mexico ceded the land to the Federal Government. Not to states, not to people, not to corporations: to the Federal Government. And the Constitution allows the Feds to do what they want with the land. Some land, no one is allowed on. Some land, one can go on with permission. Some land, anyone can do what they want. The Fed makes that decision. Get over it.

[NYCgrrl]

FunnyCamper wrote:
ya'll are giving in and giving up

why pay when it is 'for the people' and 'was put aside for the people', to be 'used by the people' as something we are entitled to.

heck no to taxes or fees on 'what we deserve as ours'

sad state of affairs. pay to live on every single piece of land in this world. WE pay 6 times taxes on everything basically by the time it gets in your hands 🙂 🙂 who is anyone kidding here?
easy to say for those who have some bucks in their pocket.
not one ounce of land to ever live a life without the 'cost of dollars'.
sorry to the max!


by 'some' the world will never be free of the cost. THEY line their pockets and bank accts everyday with other's monies.

We pay 6 times taxes more over what country? :h

[FunnyCamper]

geez, lets see. it is for the people. to be for use only from the people. as a country wide gift for the people. it is 'making' money by leases for grazing, mineral rights etc.

come on. sheeple to the max!

you can forget it 'being free' or anything else in the near future. they are putting in alternative energy applicatons on it. they are going to be 'sure' NO ONE in the future will be able to use it. all that free use land. will be 'corralled' into 'sections' by 'pay to enter'.

geez...see the light. BLM is making sure in the end they control it all.
with bucks, leases and more.

freedom. there is not any! And ya'll with some bucks in your pockets say who cares. I can afford $10 to enter. why not? I use it.

missed the whole POINT of what BLM is all about. All those in favor of paying are what scares the heck out of me in this world 🙂

[PegLW]

SkiMore wrote:
If you are using the land you are getting value out of it. Why don't you want to pay for what you are using? Do you really think it will be a lot of money to use BLM land to park an RV? Go camp on Bundy land - I'm sure he will be cool with it.

I know you are frustrated by pork spending. VOTE. Get involved. Get those people out of office. The pork is going to happen unless you stop it. The people getting rich off the pork will keep it going unless you vote to make it stop. Cutting off the government money will just cut funding from things you use and won't effect pork.

AMEN!

[SkiMore]

If you are using the land you are getting value out of it. Why don't you want to pay for what you are using? Do you really think it will be a lot of money to use BLM land to park an RV? Go camp on Bundy land - I'm sure he will be cool with it.

I know you are frustrated by pork spending. VOTE. Get involved. Get those people out of office. The pork is going to happen unless you stop it. The people getting rich off the pork will keep it going unless you vote to make it stop. Cutting off the government money will just cut funding from things you use and won't effect pork.

[FunnyCamper]

ya'll are giving in and giving up

why pay when it is 'for the people' and 'was put aside for the people', to be 'used by the people' as something we are entitled to.

heck no to taxes or fees on 'what we deserve as ours'

sad state of affairs. pay to live on every single piece of land in this world. WE pay 6 times taxes on everything basically by the time it gets in your hands 🙂 🙂 who is anyone kidding here?
easy to say for those who have some bucks in their pocket.
not one ounce of land to ever live a life without the 'cost of dollars'.
sorry to the max!

by 'some' the world will never be free of the cost. THEY line their pockets and bank accts everyday with other's monies.

[Bumpyroad]

Roman Duck wrote:


That's fine, as long as the funds that are collected are used for the lands, and not some pork!

see two posts back
bumpy

[Water-Bug]

DiskDoctr wrote:
There is no such thing as "Federal Lands"

Only DC is permitted to be under ownership of a non-state entity.

If you commit a felony on a military base or a National Park, that you claim aren't Federal Lands, you get to spend time in a Federal Prison that the federal government doesn't own either.