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Forest no longer will be home
Officials at the Ocala National Forest are eliminating annual passes because people use them to stay year-round.
Associated Press
Published August 23, 2005
SILVER SPRINGS - Annual passes to campsites within the Ocala National Forest will be discontinued to deter people from living there permanently, officials said.
Forestry officials said the passes, which were created in 1999, would be phased out by December.
"A lot of people are taking advantage," Ranger Rick Lint said. "They're squatting on public land, and that creates problems."
More than 1,380 of the $60 annual camping passes were sold last year, forestry officials said.
Campers can remain in the 383,000-acre forest for an unlimited time - a loophole, officials say, that allows people to move among the forest's 14 campgrounds indefinitely.
Forestry officials said they would consider added measures, such as nightly fees, aimed at preventing campers from living long-term in the forest.
It is not known how many people live full-time in Florida's public and private campgrounds, most of which are open year-round. They are not included in state homeless counts because they pay rent.
Advocates for the homeless say campsites are often a last resort, particularly for families who want to remain together, when shelters are full and no vouchers are available for motels.
[Last modified August 23, 2005, 02:45:30]
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