Parksville Lake cabin owners are facing a double whammy. In addition to a new county tax on the value of their leases with the Forest Service, which they are challenging in court, the leaseholders are facing an increase in their payments to the Forest Service.

The Forest Service will be adjusting the annual fee paid by permit holders for recreation residences in the Cherokee National Forest under the Cabin User Fee Fairness Act of 2000, which requires that appraisals be conducted every 10 years rather than every 20 years. In the future, permit fees should be reflective of more current appraisal values, said Terry McDonald, spokesman for the Cherokee National Forest.

McDonald said there will be significant increases in the value of the lots due to the length of time since the last appraisal in 1998. This will result in increases in the permit fees. He said one typical Parksville Lake lot fee increased from $1,899.51 to $12,000 and is indicative of the increase for lots on Parksville Lake.

The fee adjustment will be phased in over a three-year period beginning in January 2010.

McDonald explained that recreation residences are one of the oldest recreation uses on national forest lands.  Recreation residences are privately-owned, limited-use cabins located on national forest land under 20-year special use permits.

 Recreation residence tracts were first authorized through the Occupancy Permit Act of 1915 to encourage recreation within national forests at a time when forest land was under-utilized. The structures and use were authorized by a special use permit, and permittees were charged an annual fee.

There are over 14,000 recreation residences located throughout the country.  The Forest Service manages 74 recreation residence permits in the Cherokee – 62 on the Ocoee Ranger District, seven on the Tellico and five on the Watauga Ranger District.