Joel Hefley: “Many of the Nation's most famous and profitable motion pictures were filmed on public land. John Ford filmed his classic…”

“Many of the Nation's most famous and profitable motion pictures were filmed on public land. John Ford filmed his classic westerns around Moab, UT, and the opening scenes of 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' were filmed on Park Service land in Hawaii. Before 1948, the Interior Department charged filmmakers market prices for the use of these lands. But in that year, for reasons lost to time, Congress prohibited the Park Service and the Fish & Wildlife Service from collecting fees for commercial film making. This has resulted in lost revenue. The 16 units of the National Park System most involved with the film industry welcomed 2,800 productions over the past 3 years. At the present time, no requirement for fee collection besides normal special use permits. The Bureau of Land Management, which operates a film program under its existing permit system has processed approximately 1,000 requests per year. Estimated revenues of $300,000 per year; or about $1,000 to $1,100 per day. In contrast, production companies have paid as much as $8,500 a day to film on private land. Our bill would repeal this prohibition.”