Lummis Backs Cabin Fee Fairness Bill

U.S. Representative Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., is joining forces with several western members of Congress in introducing the "Cabin Fee Act of 2010." The bill is sponsored by the lead Republican on the House Natural Resources Committee, U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash.

The bill, H.R. 4888, will provide a sensible, long-term solution that will ensure a fair and predictable fee structure for family-owned cabins in the nation's national forests. The legislation will also keep these cabins affordable and accessible by establishing a new fee-setting system that would institute a tiered yearly fee structure based on current appraisals and tied to increases in inflation.

"Hundreds of families in Wyoming own recreational cabins located in our national forests," Lummis said. "Unfortunately, these family-owned cabins are being put at risk by soaring fees based on a volatile and arbitrary system that's based on subjective appraisals. Unless Congress passes the "Cabin Fee Act of 2010,' I fear that responsible cabin owners with multi-generational ties to their respective areas may simply be replaced by wealthier, vacation home buyers because of how the Forest Service is implementing current law."

Through the 2000 law, the "Cabin User Fee Fairness Act" (CUFFA), Congress specifically directed the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to consider the many regulations and restrictions on U.S. Forest Service cabins when calculating user fees. Current appraisal protocol does not consider the limited rights of cabin owners. These families do not own the land where their cabins are situated, do not have year-round use of the site, and cannot limit public access to their lots.

In a bicameral letter on May 6, 2009, spearheaded by Lummis, U.S. Rep. Rehberg, R-Mont., and U.S. Senator John Barrasso, R-Wyo., a bipartisan group of western House and Senate members asked the Forest Service to revisit its implementation of CUFFA. Specifically, the letter asserted that the Forest Service should give greater weight to the limited rights of cabin owners during its appraisal process.

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