General Comments
Comment:
Enforceability.
Approximately 28 respondents commented
on the enforceability of the proposed rule. Specifically, six
respondents stated that enforcement of the rule would be
provocative and confrontational because the rule would be ignored
and the agency would have to make mass arrests, disperse large
crowds, or obtain a restraining order to enforce it. Thirty
respondents stated that the cost to administer or enforce the rule
either would exceed income, would be a waste of taxpayer dollars,
or would overburden the Forest Service and the court system.
Response.
The Forest Service currently works to the extent possible with organizers
of group uses before, during, and after the activities take place to try to prevent
problems.
Adoption of this final rule will not change the agency's efforts to work
cooperatively with groups who wish to use National Forest System lands, nor does the
agency foresee any problem with implementation of the final rule. If a group fails to
obtain a special use authorization that is required by the rule, the agency can take
other action short of making mass arrests or obtaining a restraining order. For example,
in most federal judicial districts, the agency may impose a fine for failure to obtain
a special use authorization required for use and occupancy of National Forest System
lands.
No income to the U.S. Treasury is generated under the final rule. There are always
costs to the taxpayer when large groups use the national forests. As the reports on the
1991 an 1992 Rainbow Family Gathering indicate, the agency incurs substantial costs in
connection with group uses in order to protect the resource, address concerns of public
health and safety, and allocate space. For example, some of the costs cover water
quality testing, road maintenance, personnel, scarification, and law enforcement.
Requiring a special use authorization should decrease rather than increase these costs
by enhancing the agency's ability to prevent or minimize resource damage.
Efficacy of the Rulemaking
Listing of Comments
FS Regulation Page