Daines bill would help Forest Service cabin owners

Rep. Steve Daines announced March 21 that he helped introduce a bill in Congress that will address concerns about rising cabin fees charged by the U.S. Forest Service.

The Cabin Fee Act of 2013, which was passed by the House Natural Resources Committee on March 20, would establish a fair and predictable fee-setting system for cabins on National Forest land, Daines said.

“These rising costs threaten Montanans’ ability to continue owning cabins that have been enjoyed by families for generations,” he said. “It’s clear that a more balanced and reasonable user fee program is needed so that Montanans are able to own cabins and enjoy our National Forests for years to come.”

Numerous Montanans have reached out to him to express their concerns, he said, describing the fees as “unfair and unreasonable.” Annual fees in some cases are rising to double what families pay for property tax on the cabin — as high as $25,000, he said.

The Cabin Fee Act would authorize the Forest Service to reappraise cabin properties nationwide and set fees according to a new table that reworks the user fee formula to be more balanced.

During the year given to appraise properties and implement the new user fees, the bill authorizes the Forest Service to charge the lesser of a $5,000 annual fee or the current user fee.