US Forest Service says media needs $1500 permits to take pics in wilderness areas

The motto of the US Forest Service is "the Land of Many Uses." But that boast doesn't include photography, at least by the media.

However, the line between media and everyone else is blurred. For instance, the picture I took for this post --in 2009--of Michigan's Ottawa National Forest, could be viewed as a media entry. After all, I derive ad revenue for this blog.

From the Oregonian:

The U.S. Forest Service has tightened restrictions on media coverage in vast swaths of the country's wild lands, requiring reporters to pay for a permit and get permission before shooting a photo or video in federally designated wilderness areas.

Under rules being finalized in November, a reporter who met a biologist, wildlife advocate or whistleblower alleging neglect in any of the nation's 100 million acres of wilderness would first need special approval to shoot photos or videos even on an iPhone.

Permits cost up to $1,500, says Forest Service spokesman Larry Chambers, and reporters who don't get a permit could face fines up to $1,000.

First Amendment advocates say the rules ignore press freedoms and are so vague they'd allow the Forest Service to grant permits only to favored reporters shooting videos for positive stories.

The USFS counters that this is an old rule--it goes back 48 months which of course makes this regulation an Obama-era one.

The elitists who run this country have an ultimate goal--limit visitation to National Parks, National Forests, and designated wilderness areas so only a chosen few, such as phony environmentalists such as Leonardo DiCaprio can visit.

The people own these lands, not Washington bureaucrats.