I've been doing some more reading and discovered some very interesting things:

Quote:
6. Will I be able to purchase an annual backcountry camping pass?

Backcountry fees will be collected under authority of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA). FLREA permits the creation of annual passes for park entrance fees but not other fees, such as backcountry use fees. Great Smoky Mountains National Park does not have an entrance fee.


This lead me to the FLREA.

Upon further reading of the FLREA I found:
Quote:
Expanded Amenity Fees are fees that provide direct benefits to individuals or groups. They include things like developed campgrounds, cabin rentals, highly developed boat docks and swimming areas. They may also include services like hookups, dump stations, special tours and reservations services.
The key words being the "reservations services." Which is essentially the biggest change the fee brought and made it legal to collect fees.

The links for both quotes can be found: here and here respectively.



Edited by ETSU Pride (02/26/13 11:52 AM)
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It is one of the blessings of wilderness life that it shows us how few things we need in order to be perfectly happy.-- Horace Kephart