South Matthieu Lake, with North Sister in the background, in the Three Sisters Wilderness. 

Starting some time this year, people will no longer be able to go hiking whenever they want in the Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Washington and Three Sisters wildernesses.

Wilderness permits will be required and quotas will mean only so many people are going to be allowed.

The worst part about the permit system is that some people may not be able to go at all. Wilderness access could become like an exclusive club.

That’s not the goal. But if that’s what happens, it could diminish public support for wilderness areas.

The argument is the quotas are a necessary evil to protect the wilderness. They are there to try to keep trails from being overwhelmed by popularity. If you have been on the Green Lakes Trail some days during the summer, you know what we are talking about. Quotas should help preserve habitat. There will be less human waste and trash. And if you do get to go, it will feel more like a wilderness experience.

We don’t expect everyone to like it. But there are some things to like about it. The amount people would pay would be low, just $1 for a day-use permit per person and $6 for overnight use permits per group of up to 12. At least, those were the amounts announced last year before the decision to postpone the program until 2021. Also last year, the system for reserving the fees was going to go live on April 7 through recreation.gov. It’s not clear yet when it will go live this year.

One question we raised about this plan a few years ago is how would it be fair to people with low incomes. Even a low fee is like a regressive tax on families for wilderness access. The Forest Service has plans to make some passes available to people through libraries. And it has been working through partners that it has not named to offer passes to people who are already qualified for low-income programs.

There’s no escaping that the new quota system will mean a loss of public access to wilderness. Will it preserve and protect the wilderness enough to make up for that? We hope so.