One of the most troublesome aspects of heading out into national parks, national forests, and other federal lands for camping, paddling, or climbing – as well as many other recreational pursuits – is the rising tide of fees to do so. 

There are reservation fees, cancellation fees, fees to change the date of your trip, even fees to gain a priority position to pay a fee for a permit. 

Are these fees, generated through your use of the recreation.gov website that handles most, if not all, of the transactions, reasonable? It’s a question the Traveler has followed for a good number of years now, and it doesn’t look like a satisfactory answer will be coming soon.

Recently a U.S. senator from California, Alex Padilla, introduced legislation calling for an investigation into the fees these reservations cost the American public. Among the groups hoping that legislation eventually is signed into law is American Whitewater, which advocates for the protection and preservation of whitewater rivers and works to enhance opportunities to enjoy them safely.

Joining us today is Evan Stafford, American Whitewater’s communication’s director, to discuss recreation.gov and explain his organization’s interest in this legislation.

At the end of the show, if you’re interested in seeing Sen. Padilla’s legislation move forward, here’s the link to the Easy Action page Evan mentioned for contacting your senators.