Re: Mike Castro

I assume you are referring to "taxation without representation" where the government taxes you against your will. As far as that applies to the Forest Adventure Pass, that's fine and you do have the right to complain. However the issue I am addressing here is having to pay for parking at the Bowen Ranch and, the last time I looked, this country was also founded on the principle of the right of the individual to do as he or she legally pleases without government interference. Again, I am not defending the alleged behavior of Mike Castro towards certain individuals. The issue here is that the Bowen Ranch is private property and Mike Castro has the right to do as he legally pleases on and with his own property. There is nothing illegal with him charging you a fee to park on his property. If you don't like paying the fee, then don't park there.

To put this another way: May I park my car on your front lawn anytime I want without asking and at no charge?

As regards the Forest Adventure Pass, you might consider that it takes a fixed amount of money to administer our National Forests. If they don't get that money from the FAP, then they've got to get it from somewhere else. Where might that be? Don't suggest that it might be from the corporations (logging, grazing, etc.) who use the land because I'm sure if you had your way, those people would be evicted. This means its going to come from your taxes. So you're going to pay either way.