Do you really believe what you just said?
Please explain how compensating someone for their time is not paying them. When you are in someone employ, you are now partaking of a commercial endeavor.
I still thing that this is RMIor AAI trying to smoke out some pirates.
cough cough, there could be other...favors...cough cough. It is possible to compensate someone without paying them. Whether that compensation, whatever it may be, constitutes a violation of the commercial restrictions is up to the NPS or the courts if it comes to that. Sounds like a grey area to me. My 2 cents.