If drastic cuts to the USFS personnel actually take place, who will manage our permits?  

How worried should we be about the future of our cabins?

Submitted by member:  Gary Wollschlager. gwollschlager@gmail.com

The questions you raise are top of mind with NFH leadership. I think it's safe to say we find ourselves in an environment of uncertainty under the new administration where anything is possible.  I'll offer my personal opinion with the following comments.

First, I believe it's unlikely the Forest Service (FS) would shut down the cabin program due to budget concerns. We have a couple of things going for us. The Recreation Residence Program (RRP) generates annual fee revenues that are significantly higher than the cost to run the program. Our program generates over $5,000/acre of annual fee revenue which is much higher than other special use recreation programs. In addition, beginning this year the FS now directly retains the RRP fee revenue to support the RRP program and other recreation programs. Simply said, the RRP is a money maker for the FS.

We do anticipate further reductions of FS Staff which could make administering the RRP more challenging but we assume the FS would be required to maintain the program in its current form and find a way to administer the program with fewer staff.

Regarding potential changes of FS land ownership, we are aware some state and congressional representatives, primarily in western states favor the transfer of federal lands into state or private ownership. It's difficult to say if there is enough political momentum for for this to be a serious threat to our program. Under current laws, the methods for transferring federal lands into private ownership are 1) land exchanges, 2) outright purchases via congressional action, or 3) outright purchases of "small tract" parcels under limited circumstances. Under all three options, the purchase or exchange price is based on an appraisal of fair market value for a cabin tract land parcel and requires all permit holders (lots) in a cabin tract to participate in a single transaction. There are a small number of cabin tracts who are pursuing or have expressed an interest in pursuing a land exchange, but we believe most cabin owners prefer to retain the program in it's current form paying annual permit fees for the use of the land.

NFH leadership, along with NFH's Government Affairs representatives (lobbyists) are monitoring the situation closely.

Doug Gann, NFH Past President