Fee Demo Policy

We believe in securing this access through adequate public funding for land, waterway, and habitat protection. Supportable funding sources may include tax revenues, special programs such as the land and water conservation fund, or nominal, non-discriminatory, and non-exclusionary fees.

American Whitewater does not advocate for the complete elimination of all fees on public lands, but seeks to prevent fees-for-service, fees-for-access, full cost recovery, or pay-to-play from becoming the principle mechanisms for funding the management, maintenance and resource needs of our forests and parks.

At present, American Whitewater does not support extension of the Congressional Fee Demonstration Program, commonly referred to as Fee Demo, which arbitrarily targets river recreationists. Nearly a quarter of all Fee Demo sites are on rivers, yet river recreation represents less than 1% of overall visitation on public lands.