RAT CONTROVERSY CONTINUES TO HEAT UP

TV Reporter Ticketed on Mt. Evans

By Bill Schneider, 6-12-07

Because of the recent publicity over Mount Evans, mainly on NewWest.net but also in the Denver Post and local newspapers and because of attention from Congress, a local TV station, KCNC-TV, sent reporter Rick Sallinger up to the mountain to check it out.

And guess what, the Forest Service (FS) gave him a ticket when he parked along State Highway 5 to film his story, exactly what the FS assured NewWest.net in an earlier article would not happen. And what the fee opponents claim is illegal.

See Sallinger’s report by clicking here.

The reporter did a nice job on the story, giving it a light, humorous slant while hitting the key points of the controversy. Too bad the whole situation isn’t funny.

In a related development, lengthy comments continue to come in on the original article about the conflict between the State of Colorado and the FS over the fee, including one from former FS recreational manager Woody Hesselbarth who had this to say: “I’ve volunteered thousands of hours to protect National Forest lands....And I haven’t put forth all this paid and unpaid effort over my lifetime to see the Fee scam bleed the protection of ALL of OUR lands to death in favor of a few little recreation empires.”

Countering Hesselbarth was local volunteer Saoirse who said “I am willing to pay for the things I love, and I am willing to pay to keep this resource open and accessible and protected by local people working in the local Forest Service office.”

You can find a complete chronology of coverage of the recreation fee issue here.

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