Explore, Enjoy and Protect
Ohio's Forests
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Wayne National Forest
WE NEED YOUR HELP TODAY
in order to protect the Wayne National Forest for future
generations.
Ohio Chapter Forest Committee
The Ohio Chapter has an active forest committee that
meets throughout the year. For more information, contact
Jorg Freiberg
by e-mail.
Sierra Club opposes Parking Fee
On May 1 2005 the State Parks in Ohio will begin charging a parking fee. This parking fee is really an entrance fee in disguise. Even though folks may enter the parks for free riding a bicycle or walking the possible places to park outside of a park are very limited, and access to trails has been designed to be from parking lots on the interior rather then from the outside. Hiking along roads to get to the trailheads would add substantial mileage to any walk, in most cases making it impossible to complete a trail in a reasonable amount of time. So in essence the parking fee is an entrance fee.
The Ohio Chapter of the Sierra Club, after due consideration and discussion, has decided to oppose the implementation of a parking fee in Ohio State Parks.
Factors contributing to our position are economic discrimination against middle and lower income groups in Ohio and regressive or double taxation of Ohioans. The parking fee will charge for access to unimproved lands that taxes we paid purchased. We feel it is the State Legislature's job to adequately fund the State Parks of Ohio and not the State Parks job to fund themselves. Most of the parking fee will be retained at the park where it is collected setting up a system of motivations for Park Management to run the parks to create a profit rather then for public good.
The revenue from the parking fee will not fund programs of environmental concern to the Sierra Club such as invasive plant removal and the purchase of adequate lands to create self supporting ecosystems. Trail maintenance, a maintenance issue of major concerning for members of the Sierra Club is so low on the list of items to be funded from the parking fee that it will not be addressed for years to come. Lastly the fee would create an undue burden on the Sierra Club directly affecting attendance to outings held at State Parks and increasing the cost of running Inner City Outings programs.
Here are some things you can do to stop the implementation of the parking fee.
Attend the public hearing in Columbus
1 p.m. on Saturday, February 12, at the Ohio Historical Center, Interstate 71 and 17 th Ave. , in Columbus
Call the Ohio State Parks Division of ODNR (614) 265-6561
Email the Ohio State Parks mailto:ohiostateparks@dnr.state.oh.us
Call your representative.
Find contact information online at http://www.house.state.oh.us/jsps/Representatives.jsp and http://www.senate.state.oh.us/senators/
Send a letter to your newspaper
See sample letters below
Call your radio station news room
Here is a sample letters to the editor you can use.
Keep access free
The State of Ohio has .06 acres of public land per person. This ranks us as number 49 ahead only of New Jersey and New York. Public open spaces in Ohio are quite precious. Now the State Parks Division of ODNR wants to lock up a major portion of this area and start charging people to access it. The citizens of Ohio already paid for this land. We paid for this land so that all of us, rich or poor, could use it to find a little corner of that great open forest that once existed here. I do not want to pay to walk on public unimproved land. I oppose the parking fee Ohio State Parks wants to charge.
Nominate a special place in Ohio. As part of the campaign
to protect Ohio's forests, we're creating a guide of special places in Ohio.
Other Links
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Ohio State Forests
Wayne National Forest