There are several problems with the pass system. First and foremost, it is a clear case of selective enforcement by penalizing families and day hikers the most. Almost every other user is exempt, including skiers, campers, gun enthusiasts who use the shooting ranges, cabin owners or renters and users of designated off-road vehicle areas. But this is flawed. Certainly, these users also enjoy the greater forest amenities.
Skiers make potty stops in public restrooms before and after hitting the slopes.
Visitors to Follows Camp who drive up for the music festival also enjoy the scenery along the way. When Congress passed the legislation to allow the users fee, it probably did not envision such inequities. Maybe a gate with a fee for all visitors was more what the Congress expected. But as us often the case, the way the bill plays out in the real world is often very different from the way it was envisioned within the Beltway. That is the way a forest that hosts 25 million recreation visitors a year can get the funding that the people and the land deserve.