PRESSURE FROM BIG BROTHER TOO MUCH FOR CDOT

Colorado Caves on Mount Evans Fee

By Bill Schneider, 5-29-07

You have to admire tenacity, even if it is for digging your own grave.

In late April, I posted several articles about the disagreement between the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the Forest Service (FS) over the toll booth on State Highway 5 up to Mount Evans. You can read the complete chronology here.

When I left this issue, CDOT had taken charge and decided to put up their own signage telling people they did not have to pay a fee to drive on a state highway because state law prohibits charging a fee to drive on state roadways. For years, the FS had been loose with the truth in telling the CDOT that people didn’t have to pay to drive on a state roadway when they were actually charging everybody, even people who didn’t plan to get out of their vehicle.

But pressure from Big Brother was apparently too much for CDOT officials. They caved, endorsing a plan to let the FS do business as usual on Mount Evans, even though it’s seems counter to both state and federal law.

The FS had refused to inform people of their rights or put up a sign saying people driving on the state highway and not using the so-called “amenities” did not have to pay the fee, so CDOT had decided to put up its own sign to tell travelers the truth.

The CDOT ordered the sign, which was to say, “NO CHARGE FOR TRAVEL ON STATE HIGHWAY 5. FEES COLLECTED BY USFS ARE ONLY FOR THOSE USING AMENITIES ON USFS PROPERTY.”

This obviously panicked the FS bosses back in the Beltway, so according to Stacey Stegman of CDOT, “There was a big meeting and most of the people in the room were attorneys.” With no reporters invited, of course.

After the meeting, CDOT’s backbone turned back to jelly and the state agency agreed to let the FS contnue to charge everybody driving up Mount Evans on State Highway 5. According to Stegman, a Memorandum of Understanding is being signed between the two agencies where they agree to let the FS put up a sign that says, “PARKED VEHICLES MUST DISPLAY A VALID RECREATION PASS NEXT 15 MILES” and continue to charge everybody going through the toll booth built in the middle of State Highway 5. This means travelers will continue to be charged for driving and parking on a state-owned right-of-way.

This is exactly opposite of what the FS official in charge of Mount Evans told NewWest.net. On April 23, Acting District Ranger Donna Mickley said clearly that people driving up the road and parking along it did not have to pay, even if they parked along the road and went for a hike. Here is precisely what she said: “If a person comes up and asks for a (free) pass they will get one, but they will be monitored. They can stop anywhere except Summit Lake, Mount Goliath or the Mount Evans Summit. They can go for a hike and not get a ticket.”

She expalined that Summit Lake, Mount Goliath and the summit are considered official FS “amenities,” and if Mount Evans visitors did not go into these three places, they do not have to pay the access fee..

I made two calls to Mickley to ask why this policy was suddenly reversed, but no return calls. If she calls, I will update this article with her explaination.

Meanwhile, the folks at the main opponent to the Mount Evans “toll,” the Western Slope No-Fee Coalition are livid. In a press release, coalition president Robert Funkhouser said: “The Forest Service does not have any authority to require a pass to travel on a state highway, whether they charge for it or not. They are going to a lot of trouble to intentionally obscure who can be charged and who cannot. They are fooling the public into paying a fee that they don’t have to. It’s unconscionable.”

Funkhouser’s position is based on the Federal Land Recreation Enhancement Act, which states that the FS can’t charge a fee “solely for parking, undesignated parking, or picnicking along roads or trailsides...or general access...for dispersed areas with low or no investment,” or “for use of overlooks or scenic pullouts.”

He also noted that Colorado state law prohibits charging a fee for driving on state roadways, making the Mount Evans fee doubly illegal.

“Those few visitors savvy enough to know their legal rights can explain to the fee collector that they do not plan to use any facilities and obtain a free waiver,” Funkhouser explained, “allowing them to travel the highway as long as they don’t stop anywhere. Rangers on the mountain are then alerted to watch their activities and make sure they comply. No information about waivers is posted, and they are only available on request.”

Like this story? Get more! Sign up for our free newsletters.