FYI

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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3] [/size][/#800000][/font] T[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3]here is a whole lot of confusion and misunderstanding about the federal pass known today as the “America the Beautiful” (ATB) pass. It comes in several varieties depending on your age and other criteria. The ATB pass replaced the Golden Age passes which are still valid if you have one that hasn’t expired.
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The passes work for entrance to five (5) federal agency facilities: USDA Forest Service, National Parks, BoR, BLM, & FWS. They MAY (not WILL) also be accepted at Corps of Engineers and Tennessee Valley Authority facilities. The passes will work at more than 2,000 Federal recreation sites where Entrance or Standard Amenity Fee(s) are charged by the listed agencies. The Standard Amenity Fee is a fee charged for use of sites that have a combination of basic amenities - picnic tables, trash receptacles, toilets, developed parking, interpretive signing, and security. The Expanded Amenity Fee(s) are a fee charged for "the extras" that aren't basic entrance or standard amenity fees which would include: camp grounds, boat launches, cabins, and guided tours. The Senior and Access Passes MAY provide the pass owner a discount on some (not all) Expanded Amenity Fees such as camping. (Please contact a site directly if you have a question about pass acceptance and fees).[/size][/#800000][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3] [/size][/#800000][/font][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3]Pineview is one of those places that do NOT provide a discount on one or more of the Expanded Amenity Fees (boat launching specifically). They may, or may not, honor the pass for the camping discount. I know from firsthand experience this year that both Lucerne Bay campground and Strawberry Bay campground DO honor the pass for camping discount and both are run by AL&L. I don’t know if Anderson Cove at Pineview does or does not honor the pass discount for camping.[/size][/#800000][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3] [/size][/#800000][/font][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3]The AL&L Company that manages and runs the Pineview facilities is a concessionaire that is under permit or contract to operate a business on Federal land (i.e., campground, parking lot, ice cream stand, boat launch). Their contract provides them the requirements for fee structure. They can charge, or not charge, for those amenities they deem appropriate and set costs within the guidelines of the contract. That’s why we have to pay for boat launching at Pineview without a discount and the cost is within the government contract limits. It sucks – big time in my opinion – but it is what it is and I don’t use Pineview during the concessionaire period of operation because of it. The power boat squadron members are usually racing about in dinghy’s that rival the cost of my house, so a $12 daily or $120 annual cost to launch at Pineview is nothing more than pocket change to them.[/size][/#800000][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3] [/size][/#800000][/font][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000][size 3]I camp at both Strawberry Bay Campground and Lucerne Bay Campground and fish the adjacent waters. I get to use my Access Pass for the camping discount at both places and the launch privilege is included in the cost. There isn’t anything in Pineview that interests me for fishing that I can’t find elsewhere so I have no reason to go there in the summer time. Ice fishing there for perch and crappie is an entirely different story and you will find me there at least once a week during the ice season.[/size][/#800000][/font]
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