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Reservation fee at Red Rock gone
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Per discussion in a hiking group today it appears Red Rock has stopped charging the $2 reservation fee today. It was deemed in court to have not been adopted in compliance with the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act:  Thank you to Thomas Kotab whoever you are. |
Adam W wrote: Thank you, Adam. I was recently thinking the APA should be looked at regarding the reservation system. BIG THANKS TO THOMAS KOTAB for pursuing this, I remember his remarks during the BLM forum regarding Calico Basin. This is what I submitted to the SNCC last week. Copy of my email sent to SNCC: On Fri, Apr 29, 2022 at 2:37 PM John Hegyes wrote: Stefani, you wrote on the Mountain Project: "the reservation system was a side-swipe for everyone - no communication at all, which violated pubic requirements… The Access Fund has a team of experienced lawyers that provide guidance to local climbing organizations…" The idea that the reservation system was passed without public comment, violating public requirements, may be an avenue to roll back that policy. Are you aware of how the masking mandate aboard airlines was rolled back recently by a federal judge? I have no opinion about that particular issue, but I did note in reading about the judge’s decision that one part of her reasoning was that there was no public commenting period for the airline mask mandate and even the fact that we are in a pandemic emergency does not remove public commenting as a vital step in instituting new regulations. I wonder if this judge’s reasoning could be applied to the way the reservation system was instituted here. I am not a lawyer, but I think these land use organizations could maybe look at this strategy. When I spoke with Heather Fisher with Save Red Rock yesterday, she expressed a lot of dissatisfaction with the reservation system, and she seemed interested in this idea. ---------- “In her ruling, Judge Mizelle, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, found that the CDC had improperly invoked what is known as the "good cause exception", allowing the agency to skip public notice and comment on the mandate. Because 'our system does not permit agencies to act unlawfully even in pursuit of desirable ends,'" Judge Mizelle wrote, invoking another case, "the Court declares unlawful and vacates the Mask Mandate."” From: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-61145045 “In her ruling, Judge Mizelle also faulted the agency for issuing the mandate under emergency procedures without delaying for public comment — rejecting the idea that there was no time for that since the pandemic was then already a year old." From: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/18/us/politics/federal-mask-mandate-airplanes.html “Mizelle also found that the C.D.C. had, in issuing the mandate, failed to comply with something called the Administrative Procedure Act, by not giving proper notice or explaining the reasoning behind the rules—for example, laying out how the mandate could be effective when infants and toddlers or people eating and drinking are exempt. This part of Mizelle’s order is more tethered to reality, and, if her order had vacated the mandate solely because of such procedural issues, it would have been far less troubling. There would still have been questions about a single federal judge overturning the rule nationwide—a subject of frequent contention in recent years, by both Democrats and Republicans—but the C.D.C. could, now and in the future, address its A.P.A. problem by better communicating its thinking.” From: https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-hazard-filled-ruling-on-the-transportation-mask-mandate ---------- So maybe there is more in the Administrative Procedure Act that we can use to revisit the reservation system. I can see that dropping the reservation system could bring harmful effects upon Red Rock with the potential for overcrowding. Maybe we can brainstorm something to put in place besides the reservation system. I have a long list of complaints I could provide about the reservation system, but not a lot of alternative solutions. I do note that the recent overcrowding issue in Calico is likely an indirect result of the reservation system locking people out of the Loop and routing them to Calico instead, leading to where we are at today. |
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Reading the ruling, the BLM failed 2 technicalities for changing fees: "The Secretary shall publish notice of a new recreation fee or a change to an existing recreation fee established under this chapter in local newspapers and publications located near the site at which the recreation fee would be established or changed." "The Secretary shall obtain input from the appropriate Recreation Resource Advisory Committee, as provided in section 6803(d) of this title." Likely most reservation fees for US parks messed this up and could be challenged. But there's nothing stopping BLM/NPS/etc from meeting these requirements and bringing them back. |
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I will definitely be contacting Thomas Kotab about the possibility of toll booths being constructed in Calico Basin. |
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I was just now told that the reservation system is still in place, but the $2 fee is no longer being charged. I can confirm this, having just filled one out for tomorrow. Gigi last paid a $2 fee on April 20, I wonder if they will refund that and the all of the previous reservations made by people. It never sat well with me to pay into the war and intel machine that is Booz Allen Hamilton, the company that administers recreation.gov, every time I wanted to visit the public lands of Red Rock. |
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Good question, at a minimum I would think the reservation fees paid in April should be refunded since the court ruling is dated March. |
John Hegyes wrote: Exactly. Id like approximately $150 of my dollars back for all the reservations I paid for the past two years. |
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All of Mizelle's ruling on masks is faulty. She was rated Unqualified by the ABA. |
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The reservation system is fine for the most crowded days of the year and weekends. Not every single day from September to June. |
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The reservation system is still in place it’s just the fee for the reservation that’s gone away |
Adam W wrote: Yes, we are all aware. Thanks. |
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The $2 reservation fee is back. Anyone have any info on this? Did the BLM fulfill its obligations under the APA? I don't recall seeing any public notice regarding the Loop Rd. Perhaps the public comments for Calico Basin RAMP suffice as those for the whole National Conservation Area including the Loop Rd. |
KrisG wrote: Did you encounter this at the gate? Im surprised that nobody announced that this was a certainty. SNCC??? |
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I'm a little bit foggy on the details, but there was a public comment period, an in-person meeting, and several others. My understanding is that initial fee didn't check all the boxes. Now, they've checked all the boxes. And they got public comments but didn't have to do what any of them suggested. Many good and very convincing arguments were made against the fee and reservation at various points in this process. But BLM's gonna do what BLM's gonna do, apparently. |
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Confirmed. The blood sucking BLM has foisted this bullshit upon us again despite our comments. Does anyone actually trust any government entity anymore? |
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Last week, I was asked by Thomas Kotab to bring a document to the BLM office located at 4701 N Torrey Pines Dr., Las Vegas. This document was titled "NOTICE OF APPEAL w/ PETITION FOR STAY PENDING APPEAL incl/ MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE AMENDED PETITION FOR STAY". By delivering this document, this was supposed to temporarily prevent the October 1 implementation of the $2 reservation fee on recreation.gov. Because the fee has taken effect, it sounds like an injunction will have to be filed to halt the fee until the appeal is heard in court. |
b k wrote: No, I got a reservation on the recreation.gov app the day before. |
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I was charged $2 at the gate today. I asked the agent if the fee was illegal, since BLM lost the lawsuit. She said that BLM appealed and that the fee was here to stay. Total BS. I am willing to do whatever it takes to keep Josh Travers from completely ruining Red Rock.. |
Gabe Lewis wrote: E-mail your state and federal representation. I know 2 of us who have done this, but it will take a lot more than that to garnish the attention of larger fish in the pond. At a time when trust in government is at an all-time low, it's amazing that they continue these behaviors that further erode trust. |
John Hegyes wrote: It's 2022. This is not ok! |
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In their Facebook post they called the $2 fee something else now. It looked like they found some loophole to be able to charge it again by giving it a different name |
