And, seeing as how you, too, could take advantage of it, it's not really a "special privilege" -- which, BTW, is not free.Please tell me how I can apply for a new cabin lease. I'd love to have one.
The fact is, there are no new leases. There is a small group of people who had a family member get a lease decades ago. The cabins are great. The people in them are great stewards of the land. But the point is - it's a special privilege because the general public does not have access to it.
It's like the difference between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Bedroom. Anyone can visit the Washington Monument. Only political fat cats can visit the Lincoln Bedroom. If the Lincoln Bedroom were no longer open to a select few, I wouldn't shed a tear. If the Monument was closed for specious reasons I would be upset.
Similarly, we should focus on closing of roads and areas of the forest that were previously available to the general public.
Cabins come up for sale all the time (not a good investment in the current climate I might add). The problem is that they are not advertised. Realtors don't want to handle them because they are paperwork nightmare being a Mortgage of Chattels. Banks will rarely loan on them. The lease is yearly and revocable at any time with 10 year review. Only those families that didn't go for the new lease structure in the late 70s still have the 99 year lease. If you ask the cabin owners in the area you are interested in, they'll let you know who would like to sale. The word of mouth method is how advertising is done in the tracts. Selling one is not easy as the Forest Service will insist that they be brought up the latest septic standards (remember, most were built in the 20 and 30s). Handing over to a family member simplifies the paperwork. You'll discover the pains of dealing with Green Gestapo real quick in trying to get into one. Check with forest service and see what their rules are before assuming the owners have it easy and are privileged.