A lawsuit challenging the backcountry user fee assessed at Great Smoky Mountains National Park can proceed, a federal judge has ruled.
Although Judge Joseph M. Hood rejected portions of the lawsuit brought by Southern Forest Watch, Inc., against the Interior Department and the National Park Service, he kept intact the group's challenge to the $4 per night per person fee for backcountry travelers in the national park.
The backcountry fee, with a $20 per person cap per trip, took effect in February 2013. It is intended by park officials to help streamline and improve the backcountry permitting process and heighten the presence of rangers in the backcountry.
In suing to overturn the fee, Southern Forest Watch contends not only that the fee isn't merited, but draws on both Park Service history and mandates to contend the agency is precluded from charging the $4 per person per night fee.
While Judge Hood dismissed the group's challenge of the online registration system the park put in effect, saying the plaintiffs had failed to show they were injured by the system, he ruled they could challenge the nightly fees. In doing so, he rejected the government's claim that the Park Service enjoyed sovereign immunity in creating and implementing the reservation system and fee structure.
"Plaintiffs may challenge the superintendent’s decision to implement the backpacker registration fee under the APA, and this Court will have jurisdiction," Judge Hood ruled.
No date for the challenge was immediately set.
Comments
OK, you're quoting numbers from the Bush White House to me to support the Bush tax cuts. Apples and oranges here. I said that the primary beneficiaries of the tax cuts were the wealthy. Are you trying to tell me that these OMB tables helped the little guy? You'll have to draw me a little closer to the little guy picture of the benefits.
Discretionary budget authority increased by 26% from $849.5B in FY03 to $1.072T in FY07. However, the Interior Department's discretionary budget authority only increased by 4% from $10.6B in FY03 to $11.05B in FY07.
NPS's total BA went from $2.52B in FY03 to $2.68B in FY07. The Congressional appropriation for NPS increased from $2.24B in FY03 to $2.3B in FY07.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2009/pdf/hist... (pg 114 discretionary BA)
http://www.nps.gov/aboutus/upload/FY_2009_greenbook.pdf (Overview-71)
http://www.doi.gov/budget/appropriations/2005/upload/Appendix-A.pdf
http://www.doi.gov/budget/appropriations/2009/upload/Appendix-A.pdf
ecbuck according to your math if we lower taxes to zero we would have all kinds of money for gov't expenditures.
Sara - so what?
No, the numbers are from the Office of Management and Budget - nothing to do with Bush. They are the facts.
. No, you said the wealthy where the only beneficiaries. The Bush tax cuts were across the board. Even the piece that Kurt cited concluded the middle class was helped. Not to mention the massive increase in tax revenues that went to fund ever increasing entitlement programs.
Going back to the initial (off) point, which Lee originated with his Tea Party attack, the Bush tax rate cuts led to a huge increase in tax receipts. Similar tax rate cuts would likely generate additional gains that could be used to fund things such as the parks.
David, you need to take an economics class and learn about "diminishing returns" and "equilibriums". Economics isn't linear.
ecbuck, my point is how many times can you lower tax rates while expecting to make ends meet. Their is a point where taxes can be too low. When this happens you create a backlog of things that need attention. If you look at the history of tax rates in the last 50 years or so, you will see we are at about the lowest rates ever. Look at this chart "History of income tax rates adjusted for inflation (1913-2010)"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_tax_in_the_United_States
Yes there is. But there is no evidence we have reached it.
[addition] Also David, if you look at that chart you will notice that the top tax rate is at or above the top rate we have seen for the last 30 years. Also, in periods before that, you had to be making in the millions (2011 dollars) to hit the top bracket. Today, you get there at the equivalent of $388k dollars. We are hardly at historical lows when it comes to tax rates.