This act, derisively dubbed by some as the "Recreation Access Tax" (RAT), was passed in December 2004 as part of the Omnibus Appropriations Bill.
To avoid a fine, a wise hiker will telephone a Forest Service office or check the maps of High Impact Recreational Areas online of the individual forests to determine in advance his or her permit needs, since adequate signage pertaining to the need for an Adventure Pass is not yet common.
Fees collected via purchases of the Adventure Pass/Notice of Required Fee help directly fund the recreation program on each of the forests involved which includes purchasing trash bags, toilet paper, paint, wood for picnic tables, campfire rings, stoves, etc as well as salary funding to hire rangers to care for the forest, clean bathrooms, pick up trash, answer visitor questions, enforce regulations, and serve the public.
Perhaps the Forest Service is really saying that a fee is "[s]olely for parking" when imposed in a location where a visitor has no option to do something else, whether or not that "something else" is an amenity required by the statute."
He would not find much solace in a waiter's explanation that the wine cellar contained ten bottles, which the patron could have ordered if he wished."
The Court clarified the motive behind such reasoning: "By ignoring the plain text, the Forest Service arrives at an interpretation that would enable an end-run around the clear statutory restrictions.
Because the REA has a plain meaning that does not lead to an absurd result, we have no need to afford deference to the agency's competing, nonsensical interpretation."