National Forest Homeowners

General Questions/Discussions

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Moderator(s): Doug Gann, Melody & Christopher Knox, Sharon Leach, Meredith A. Randall

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Topics		Replies	Score	Author	Latest Post
	politics of land use	3		C. Breed	If you want to reach out to me directly, please email me at sleach@nationalforesthomeowners.org. I'd be happy to set up a time to talk. Or call our office at 800-669-9971. I would be happy to learn more about this issue. Thanks - Sharon Leach. by S. Leach Monday, August 17, 2020
	Property taxes	4		G. Gardner	Cabins in Oregon are exempt from possessory Interest tax per OAR 150-307-0230. by R. Dwyer Tuesday, August 11, 2020
	Disagreement with FS Ranger on Road Repairs and need help	3		J. Conroy	You might want to check with the county and the Forest Service. Apache County has a map of their road system online. Additionally, it looks like they recently set policy for N Roads (https://www.co.apache.az.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Adoption-of-an-N-Road-to-an-Adopted-County-Maintained-Road-approved-02-04-2020.pdf). Does your association hold a FS special use permit for the road? If yes, and the land use has changed since the permit was issued, it seems you should be able to go back to them with a case for why your association shouldn't be solely responsible for its maintenance - I'd start with checking the permit language. If your cabin group wasn't issued a special use permit for the road, and land use has changed, you might try getting in contact with the FS roads management team. It looks like they recently completed a motorized travel plan last fall. They may be able to provide guidance as far as options. by D. La Maggiore Wednesday, July 29, 2020
	non-renewal of permits	7		R. Dwyer	Thanks Doug. by D. Merrick Wednesday, July 29, 2020
	Keeping the peace while scheduling and calendaring cabin times	4		S. BROWNING	Jay - Your cabin looks terrific! Thanks for sharing the website with us! Kaye Mathews - Hefferman Gulch Tract - CO by K. Mathews Friday, July 10, 2020
	Roof Replacement	6		E. McGrew	Hi Elise, I had a chance to swing by your tract while at the Bend conference - sweet location and I probably have a picture of you cabin! Send me and email with your contact information and I will see if we can get you connected with some of the other tracts in the Willamette NF - desiree.lamaggiore@nationalforesthomeowners.org by D. La Maggiore Friday, May 22, 2020
	Current Status of Stanislaus Forest	1		S. Curran	Thanks for letting us know. We have heard that some gates may not be opened up yet. In California, it appears that some forests are working closely with state and county authorities. Keep in mind that if any particular forest or district is restricting use, you should be eligible for requesting fee relief in proportion to your reduced use. Whether it is the state or the Forest Service setting the rules that led to your "impaired" use, your district staff will have guidelines for providing fee reduction due to what is termed "impaired use." What we understood from both the Washington Office and the Regional office was that the permits would not be restricted and use of your cabin would be a decision made individually based on your situation and state guidelines. In cases where there is closure and permit holders are not allowed use under their permit terms, you can request the above fee reduction for consideration from your Forest.We'll post as we learn more, too. Thanks again for that local/regional insight. Hope they open up the gates soon. by S. Leach Thursday, May 14, 2020
	Question on Multiple Lots	1		T. Price	Tim, It appears the annual fee for your permit is the same as the fee for lot A of your tract, which suggests the Forest Service assigned a single fee for your permit as one logical lot. Also, your annual fee is within a range of fees for other similar lots in the same Forest which also suggests the permit fee is not based on multiple lots. I'll contact you directly to provide some additional information regarding how permit fees are determined. Doug Gann NFH President by D. Gann Tuesday, April 28, 2020
	What are the COVID-19 Guidelines from the USFS?	1		S. Leach	Recreation residence tracts are generally not considered developed recreation sites, however guidance may vary by Forest. The following description was included in a public notice recently issued by the USFS Pacific SW Region: “Developed recreation sites” refers to designated recreational use areas designed to facilitate public use. Information on individual recreation sites and opportunities are available from local National Forests. Note the emphasis on public use. Examples of developed recreation sites may include campgrounds, visitor centers, sno-parks, day use areas, USFS owned rental cabins, trail heads (although many trail systems remain open), and other recreation sites that tend to attract large numbers of public users. by D. Gann Friday, April 3, 2020
	Safe to go to cabins?	8		D. La Maggiore	Thanks, K. by I. McClure Friday, April 3, 2020
	Road Maintenance Agreements with the FS	4		T. Kish	We finally have an answer. The Forest Service won't require anyone to contribute to road maintenance, because 6 years ago we 12 cabin-owners decided NOT to form a legal association. It seemed too threatening a project. As a result, the road agreement contract was signed by one representative cabin-owner only, not the legal representative of an association. The association would have given the FS the teeth to compel permittees to cooperate financially, the FS road engineer tells us.Next step: the FS says funding for road crews is dwindling and we should anticipate paying for materials and for labor to apply materials in the near future. We're going to revisit whether we want to form an association. And if we stay informal, at least we'll adopt a policy of the treasurer notifying all 12 owners of who has paid and who has failed to pay into annual assessments. by C. Breed Thursday, February 6, 2020
	Propane Fridge Recommendations	5		A. Froker	About five years ago our vintage propane fridge gave up the ghost. Couldn't find anyone willing to work on it. I attempted to clean out the heat exchangers and thought I was vacuuming a mouse nest when I realized it was asbestos. Sigh... That's when we purchased a new Crystal Cold unit from Gas Fridge Depot. We added a high altitude orifice as we are at 9,500ft and have been very happy with it's performance. The one nit I have is the inside light, powered by two D cell batteries, is not sufficient. I found a light socket converter and put in a small watt LED bulb. The D cell batteries did not have enough voltage to power the LED light, so I replaced the D batteries with two 9V batteries in series. The new setup is much brighter inside. Happy hunting!Edit: Looking at the website it appears they now come with an LED interior light, so it appears this is fixed on the newer units. by M. Norder Wednesday, January 29, 2020
	Trust Transfer of Permit Upon Death of Trustees	4		B. Potter	Because cabin trusts are typically part of an overall estate planning process by a cabin owner, reasons for placing a cabin in a trust will vary by personal circumstances. That said, a common reason for placing a cabin in a trust is to bypass the probate process when a cabin owner passes away. Because probate varies by state law, owners from some states (where probate is more complex or expensive) are more motivated than those in other states to bypass probate. Another common reason for using a trust as an ownership entity is when a cabin is owned by multiple parties to define the rights and responsibilities of the parties. I'll also mention the USFS is not entirely consistent regarding their review and acceptance of cabin trust terms, thus the need to discuss your specific cabin trust terms with the attorney who created it. For more information, please reference the Cabin Trusts / Multi-Ownership page under the Resources menu. by D. Gann Sunday, January 19, 2020
	Cabin Appearance, etc.	1		R. Maycock	Anyone involved in owning a cabin in the Recreation Residence program may be a member of National Forest Homeowners (NFH). While we don't require you to do anything in particular to your cabin, we encourage good citizenship and compliance with the Forest Service rules for owning a cabin. Membership can help permit holders understand their permits and the Forest Service, which inevitably leads to members being stronger permit-holders, as well as more educated in their rights.Thanks!Sharon Leach, NFH Executive Director by S. Leach Monday, December 30, 2019
	NFH Support with Ranger Disagreements	1		R. Maycock	Dear Richard,You can count on NFH to assist with information, contacts and other guidance when you run into problems. Typically, we want to empower our members with factual information to use in cases where a local ranger interprets the rules inconsistently and not in alignment with the special use permit and other forest rules. If the situation affects cabin owners more generally, we may step in and discuss with forest-level, regional or Washington Office contacts in the Forest Service.At times, a local dispute may be so challenging that NFH would make a call to the ranger or forest supervisor, but we really feel strongly that empowering each permit holder and local tract association builds strength and relationship locally, which helps the entire program and permit-holders. If you are currently having trouble, let us know and maybe we can assist.All the Best,Sharon Leach, NFH Executive Director by S. Leach Monday, December 30, 2019
	Invasive aquatic Eurasian milfoil	2		M. Chinn	P.S. I will add only that in my limited research, the best approach appears to be lots of volunteer hours and lots of manual pulling. It has the greatest impact. Then, there are some species that will eat it, and as long as they are not able to reproduce, these other fish or whathaveyou that may eat the plant can be contained. Thanks for your question -Sharon Leach, NFH Executive Director by S. Leach Tuesday, December 10, 2019
	Are maps of tracts available?	3		J. Mcloskey	I'll echo Dave's suggestion above that you should obtain your tract map from the Forest Service and keep with your cabin records. Every tract was surveyed by the USFS and the lots authorized for the recreation residence program, even though permits may not have been issued for every lot to build on. It's important to understand where the undeveloped lots are in case there's ever a need to invoke the "in-lieu" lot provision of your permit. My experience is some counties have incorporated these maps into the county's GIS system for property tax or emergency service purposes, but many have not. The USFS is the official source of the tract maps. The example above is very typical of what a USFS tract map looks like. Many have not been updated since the original survey.....80+ years ago! by D. Gann Sunday, November 24, 2019
	no trespassing sign	4		R. Paradies	To add to the dialog above, the Forest Service frowns upon any signage which attempts to restrict general public access to National Forest lands, including our lots. Since the cabin is your private property, you can post a sign identifying your cabin as "private property" and you may also be allowed to say something like "no public access allowed" or "keep off" or "no trespassing" if the sign is clear that it applies to your private improvements, but not the lot. by D. Gann Sunday, November 24, 2019
	Library	2		W. Schrader	The USFS also has an online library with thousands of digital archives. Not sure if you will find what you’re looking for, but here’s the link - https://www.fs.fed.us/library/.Dave by D. Condit Tuesday, November 19, 2019
	Cabin Incidental Rental	2		M. Norder	Yes it does, thanks for the information. by M. Norder Thursday, October 10, 2019

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