Forest Service to drop most fees in Catalinas - FOX Carolina 21

Most fees at the Catalina Mountains will be gone beginning July 4.

The Arizona Daily Star reports that the U.S. Forest Service announced this week that most of the original fee area will no longer be subject to recreation fees. The move comes after a federal court settlement in January between the Forest Service and Tucson residents, who filed suit against the agency over collection of fees.

The original fee system in the Catalinas, in effect since 1996, allowed the Forest Service to charge fees to people who parked and hiked on trails or used recreation-site facilities.

U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Heidi Schewel says fees -- $5 daily or $20 for an annual pass -- will be charged for only 11 of 28 developed recreation sites previously subject to fees.

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