- Location
- Redondo Beach,Calif
Monday, January 15, 2007
New Information Affecting Your Wheeling
Here are two new changes that might affect your 4-Wheeling.
America the Beautiful Annual Pass
Have you heard that the annual pass for Death Valley is going from $20 to $80 this year (2007)? In fact there is a bit more behind the story. On December 5th the Department of the Interior announced a new combine pass called “America the Beautiful”. The press release stated: “The new pass, authorized by the Congress in 2004, combines the benefits of existing recreation passes from five federal agencies into one comprehensive pass, the “America the Beautiful – National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass.”
The new pass covers recreation opportunities on public lands managed by four Department of the Interior agencies – the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and the Bureau of Reclamation, and by the Department of Agriculture’s U.S. Forest Service.
Access to most public lands remains free. The pass applies to those locations that currently have entrance or standard amenity fees.
The new program replaces the Golden Eagle, Golden Age, and the Golden Access Passports as well as the National Parks Pass. Existing passes will remain valid until expired, lost or stolen.
The four different passes in the new interagency program are:
1) A new annual interagency pass costing $80--For visitors to multiple federal sites, the pass offers unlimited coverage of entrance and standard amenity recreation fees for a specific period of time, typically a year, beginning from the date of first use.
2) A $10 lifetime senior pass for U.S. citizens 62 or over;
3) A free lifetime access pass for citizens with permanent disabilities ; and
4) A new, free annual volunteer pass for volunteers acquiring 500 hours of service on a cumulative basis.
The America the Beautiful will also be accepted in place of an Adventure pass for National Forests in Southern California. However, the Adventure Pass will still be sold for those wishing to visit only national forests in Southern California. The Adventure Pass has an annual fee of $30 and covers standard amenity fees only for the Angeles, Cleveland, Los Padres, and San Bernardino National Forests.
If last year you bought a National Park pass ($50) and an Annual Adventure Pass ($30) like I did, then you will lay out the same amount of money for the America the Beautiful Pass this year.
You can find the full DOI press release at http://www.doi.gov/news/06_News_Releases/061205.html
and one from the San Bernardino National Forest
At http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sanbernardino/documents/america_the_beautiful_pass_13Dec06.pdf
Passport for Mexico & Canada
You might have heard about this on the news recently but didn’t make the connection of how it might affect your 4-Wheel Trips. Are you planning a Wheeling trip to the Baja in 2008? You will need a US passport or passport card (new concept) starting January 1 2008, to return to the USA. There is a real crunch at the pass port office already because these regulations go into effect for Air travel January 23, 2007. I would expect the demand will continue for quite a while and lead times to process passports will stretch beyond the 6 week norm. I recommend you make getting a passport a priority this month while you have plenty of time. BTW – a passport is good for 10 years (if you have one, check the expiration date today).
I have extracted some text from the press release”
“Beginning January 23, 2007, ALL persons, including U.S. citizens, traveling by air between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda will be required to present a valid passport, Air NEXUS card, or U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Document, or an Alien Registration Card, Form I-551, if applicable.
As early as January 1, 2008, ALL persons, including U.S. citizens, traveling between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda by land or sea (including ferries), may be required to present a valid passport or other documents as determined by the Department of Homeland Security. While recent legislative changes permit a later deadline, the Departments of State and Homeland Security are working to meet all requirements as soon as possible. Ample advance notice will be provided to enable the public to obtain passports or passport cards for land/sea entries.
The Passport Card (also referred to as the PASS Card): This limited-use passport in card format is currently under development and will be available for use for travel only via land or sea (including ferries) between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda. Similar in size to a credit card, it will fit easily into a wallet. “
Read more detail at http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html.
Regards,
Tom Severin, President
Badlands Off Road Adventures, Inc
310-374-8047
http://www.4x4training.com
Certified Instructor
New Information Affecting Your Wheeling
Here are two new changes that might affect your 4-Wheeling.
America the Beautiful Annual Pass
Have you heard that the annual pass for Death Valley is going from $20 to $80 this year (2007)? In fact there is a bit more behind the story. On December 5th the Department of the Interior announced a new combine pass called “America the Beautiful”. The press release stated: “The new pass, authorized by the Congress in 2004, combines the benefits of existing recreation passes from five federal agencies into one comprehensive pass, the “America the Beautiful – National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass.”
The new pass covers recreation opportunities on public lands managed by four Department of the Interior agencies – the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and the Bureau of Reclamation, and by the Department of Agriculture’s U.S. Forest Service.
Access to most public lands remains free. The pass applies to those locations that currently have entrance or standard amenity fees.
The new program replaces the Golden Eagle, Golden Age, and the Golden Access Passports as well as the National Parks Pass. Existing passes will remain valid until expired, lost or stolen.
The four different passes in the new interagency program are:
1) A new annual interagency pass costing $80--For visitors to multiple federal sites, the pass offers unlimited coverage of entrance and standard amenity recreation fees for a specific period of time, typically a year, beginning from the date of first use.
2) A $10 lifetime senior pass for U.S. citizens 62 or over;
3) A free lifetime access pass for citizens with permanent disabilities ; and
4) A new, free annual volunteer pass for volunteers acquiring 500 hours of service on a cumulative basis.
The America the Beautiful will also be accepted in place of an Adventure pass for National Forests in Southern California. However, the Adventure Pass will still be sold for those wishing to visit only national forests in Southern California. The Adventure Pass has an annual fee of $30 and covers standard amenity fees only for the Angeles, Cleveland, Los Padres, and San Bernardino National Forests.
If last year you bought a National Park pass ($50) and an Annual Adventure Pass ($30) like I did, then you will lay out the same amount of money for the America the Beautiful Pass this year.
You can find the full DOI press release at http://www.doi.gov/news/06_News_Releases/061205.html
and one from the San Bernardino National Forest
At http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sanbernardino/documents/america_the_beautiful_pass_13Dec06.pdf
Passport for Mexico & Canada
You might have heard about this on the news recently but didn’t make the connection of how it might affect your 4-Wheel Trips. Are you planning a Wheeling trip to the Baja in 2008? You will need a US passport or passport card (new concept) starting January 1 2008, to return to the USA. There is a real crunch at the pass port office already because these regulations go into effect for Air travel January 23, 2007. I would expect the demand will continue for quite a while and lead times to process passports will stretch beyond the 6 week norm. I recommend you make getting a passport a priority this month while you have plenty of time. BTW – a passport is good for 10 years (if you have one, check the expiration date today).
I have extracted some text from the press release”
“Beginning January 23, 2007, ALL persons, including U.S. citizens, traveling by air between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda will be required to present a valid passport, Air NEXUS card, or U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Document, or an Alien Registration Card, Form I-551, if applicable.
As early as January 1, 2008, ALL persons, including U.S. citizens, traveling between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda by land or sea (including ferries), may be required to present a valid passport or other documents as determined by the Department of Homeland Security. While recent legislative changes permit a later deadline, the Departments of State and Homeland Security are working to meet all requirements as soon as possible. Ample advance notice will be provided to enable the public to obtain passports or passport cards for land/sea entries.
The Passport Card (also referred to as the PASS Card): This limited-use passport in card format is currently under development and will be available for use for travel only via land or sea (including ferries) between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda. Similar in size to a credit card, it will fit easily into a wallet. “
Read more detail at http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html.
Regards,
Tom Severin, President
Badlands Off Road Adventures, Inc
310-374-8047
http://www.4x4training.com
Certified Instructor
