U.S. public lands are our heritage

At last, a non-partisan issue. It concerns fees for use of national public lands (lands the maintenance for which we already pay through income taxes.) These lands are our heritage as American citizens and the legacy we pass on to our children and future generations.

Citizens and groups representing a diverse variety of interests have been coming together all over the country and are demanding a repeal of the law that imposes fees on the use of public lands, which include national forests, Bureau of Land Management lands and historic sites. The law, which was rejected by the House but slipped into a "must pass" omnibus spending bill, is misleadingly called the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act.

There will be a public meeting at the Sandpoint Community Hall at 6 p.m. Wednesday concerning repeal of this law. State, county and local officials have been invited to meet with various recreational groups and individuals who support the law's repeal. Several states, including Montana, Colorado, Oregon, California and Alaska, have already passed resolutions demanding a repeal of fees for the use of public lands. Local supporters of the repeal hope that the Idaho Legislature will pass a similar resolution in the next session.

The meeting at Community Hall provides the opportunity for local citizens to become better informed and to be heard on this non-partisan issue in which all Americans, as inheritors of the public domain, have so much at stake.

GRETCHEN WARD

Sandpoint