Everyone,

There have been some things lately written about the
new parking permit needed for Ridgefield National
Wildlife Refuge on both Tweeters and OBOL. Nisqually
has had this requirement for several years. One
option I haven't seen mention but will throw out there
for everyone to consider is the Golden Eagle passport.
Note, if you already have a Golden Age or Golden
Access passport this will also work at the National
Wildlife Refuges instead of having to pay the $3 fee.

The Golden Eagle Passport is $65 for a year. This
seem like a lot of money at first, but consider that
the cost of an annual pass for Ridgefield and a
Northwest Forest Pass for the year combine to a cost
of $45. The Gold Eagle Passport takes the place of
both of these. Throw in the entrance cost of a trip
or two to any one of our National Parks on top of that
and the Golden Eagle Passport has already paid for
itself.

In addition to entrance fees for the National Parks,
trailhead fees for National Forest lands and the fees
at the National Wildlife Refuges, the Golden Eagle
Passport is good on almost all Federal lands such as
many BLM sites that charge a per car/user fee and for
birders who visit many of these sites on a regular
basis is a real value.

Michael Dossett

Michael Dossett
Corvallis, Oregon
www.Mdossettphoto.com
phainopepla at yahoo.com



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