Wow, I usually don't get involved in these heated discussions, but I just
can't pass this one up.
First a point of clarification, the law enforcement folks in action at the
American River ride were Rangers employed by the California State Parks. Not
'feds' or forest service or national parks staff.
Second, much as we might enjoy bashing these individuals (ripping off one of
these hostile letters can feel cleansing, I know <bg>) if the more recent
posts are accurate, the potential is certainly there that we will be left
extracting our collective feet from our collective mouths. This issue can't
be clarified w/o input from ride management, but at this point it seems they
have the largest burden of responsibility. IF, in fact, ride management had
this info, and failed to communicate it to riders, it sounds to me as if it
is AERC, not California State Parks, who need to "police their own".
One might even take note that the rangers, who are after all, a law
enforcement group, showed some restraint last year in enforcing these rules.
This year, they allegedly advised the people in charge of the situation with
plenty of lead time, they notified folks who arrived of the regulations, they
came round later in the evening to reinforce the issue, and finally, they
cited and evicted those who were still in violation.
Now, don't get me wrong, if I had gotten all my gear together, hauled for
hours, arrived late, set up camp, and been rousted the middle of the night I
would be FURIOUS. I really feel for the largely innocent riders involved.
What a hassle! There you are w/your horse, tack, camping gear, etc. being
booted out at midnight! It sounds as if the rangers may not have exercised
the best judgement, or may have been over zealous. Seems this might have
been better handled on their part, from the PR standpoint if nothing else.
Surely there are some people in law enforcement roles who get carried away
with a bit of power, tho I know all agencies try to screen these guys out.
So, I'm not excusing any unprofessional conduct on the part of the rangers,
and since I wasn't there I can't pass judgement on that. But come on guys,
who set up the riders for this scenario? Again, we need to hear from ride
management. Has anyone who actually attended this ride and suffered the
consequences filed any formal communication to AERC?
Third and last, those of us in Humboldt County have had the good fortune to
develop a great working relationship with the California State Parks staff.
Ironically, it began in a fashion similar to this fiasco, with many hot
tempers and a lot of angry rhetoric. Fortunately, with some fine leadership
on the part of both the parks and the equestrians, we all sat down in one
room and hashed things out. Outcome is we have developed an Equestrian
Working Group which meets regularly w/the Parks folks, who are allowing us
input into trail signage, placement of tie rails, water troughs, etc. Hope
the folks involved in this current mess can seize the opportunity to make
lemonade from these lemons, and strengthen relationships with those who have
the responsibility for oversight of a precious resource.
Pat Farmer