After pointing out at the Federal Overreach Summit the case of the Day Care operator in Wrangell who was facing a fine of $350 for illegally using a picnic table in the Tongass National Forest when she allowed the six youngsters in her care to eat at it, the United States Forest Service dismissed the citation on Thursday.

The Forest Service dismissed the citation after the case was brought to the attention of USFS Chief Thomas Tidwell during his visit to Alaska in early August.

Senator Lisa Murkowski said she had read the article on the case and even acquired a copy of the citation. At the Summit, Senator Murkowski related to listeners, “I had breakfast with the chief of the Forest Service on Friday morning, and gave it (the citation) to him with his morning coffee, and fortunately for us, he was shocked, he was horrified, he said, ‘This is horrible!’ I said sir, this is the problem that we’ve got.”

She said, “What are they thinking?” calling it a glaring example of callous and unreasonable federal policy in Alaska. The citation for $350 plus $25 processing fee was for using a picnic table without a permit in the National Forest.

“It shouldn’t take an act of Congress, or a U.S. Senator getting personally involved to ensure Alaskans are treated fairly,” said Murkowski. “This disregard for common sense by the U.S. Forest Service – by penalizing a woman taking a handful of kids out for a simple picnic – is the latest in a dismal tradition of top down policymaking in DC hitting Alaskans in the pocketbook and chipping away at our state’s unique culture.”

“What is happening when you can’t go out to a national forest and have a picnic for kids without a permit?,” said Marilyn Monk who runs Auntie’s Day Care. “That was a crazy thing asking me to have a permit, but I am thankful and relieved that Senator Murkowski took this ridiculous fine to the top and got it dealt with.”