We believe Dr. Richer's surveys provide the best measure of overall forest visitor response to the Adventure Pass. Dr. Richer's surveys indicate that the vast majority of forest visitors either support the program or are neutral about it. Effects on low income and minority visitors has been a primary concern since project inception. Pre-project surveys indicated that the effect of income on visitors' willingness to pay was very slight. Our field personnel have not noticed a dropoff in visitor use since the Adventure Pass program began.
Popular areas continue to be crowded with visitors, and parking lots are overflowing.
The areas most frequently used by low income or minority users are packed to capacity, and in some locations visitors must be turned away. The National Forests of Southern California serve a highly mobile population of more than 24 million people. A large number of forest visitors are first-time users. Also, the visitor population changes with the seasons, bringing a new group of visitors to the forests at different times of the year. Public awareness is a major factor in obtaining compliance for fee programs, particularly one that covers a broad area and lacks controlled entry points for ease in fee collection.