Interagency assessments for fish habitat delay ranchers’ access to federal land (but not the Rainbow Family)

Delayed Forest Service biological assessments are preventing some Grant County ranchers from turning out their cattle on public lands. Grant County Commissioner Boyd Britton expressed frustration and dismay at the issue and said local grazing permit holders were seriously affected. Britton said turnout dates are typically May 15, June 1 and June 15. The biological assessments are consultations with the National Marine Fisheries for steelhead and United States Fish and Wildlife Service for bull trout. Grant County Stock Growers Association President Alec Oliver estimated some ranchers missed out on roughly 20-30 percent of summer grazing on their alloted land. He said they had compensated by turning out onto fall pastures and feeding cattle hay typically used later in the season...more 

This is in the Malheur National Forest...that kind of rings a bell...oh yeah, that's where up to 30,000 members of the Rainbow Family will be cavorting on July 4th...without a permit.

Violations prompt 8 arrests, numerous citations at Rainbow Family Gathering in eastern Oregon

This year's Rainbow Family Gathering hasn't officially started, but already law enforcement is cracking down on the event, which the U.S. Forest Service characterized on Tuesday as "unauthorized" and "unsanctioned." In their daily update on the festival, the Forest Service reported that more than 2,600 people already had converged on the Malheur National Forest in eastern Oregon. As many as 20,000 campers are expected for the July 1-7 event. So far, 8 arrests have been made, and 192 warning notices and 47 violation notices have been given out. In anticipation of more citations and arrests, federal prosecutors and judges are setting up a temporary court near the gathering site, which is happening in the Flagtail Meadow about 20 miles northwest of Seneca. The remote court will be able to handle everything from parking violations to drug offenses to minor assaults that arise at the festival. It's not clear how the federal prosecutors will handle marijuana use at the event. Recreational marijuana is legal in Oregon but remains an illegal drug under federal law, and the national forest is federal land. The gathering is organized by The Rainbow Family of Living Light, and according to the Forest Service, participants began arriving two weeks ago. More attendees are expected in the coming days, with crowds reaching a peak on July Fourth...more

Ranchers fume as ‘Rainbow Family’ set to camp on federal land in Oregon

Eric Mortenson

The U.S. Forest Service acknowledged there isn’t much it can do about a “Rainbow Family” gathering expected to bring thousands of counter-culture types to the Malheur National Forest in Eastern Oregon over the next two weeks. The organizers don’t have a permit, and the Forest Service’s response to that has angered area residents such as rancher Loren Stout, who lives near the gathering spot and has a federal grazing permit on land adjacent to it. He said the Forest Service would punish ranchers if they ignored permit requirements and tapped a spring for drinking water like the Rainbow Family has done. Stout said it took him two years to get a National Environmental Policy Act permit to drill an exploratory mining hole. “People are furious over this,” Stout said. “Not because it’s a friggin’ bunch of hippies, it’s the different standards.” An estimated 500 to 700 people have already set up camp at Flagtail Meadow off of Forest Road 24, near the towns of Seneca and John Day. The 46th annual National Rainbow Gathering could draw 15,000 to 20,000 July 1-7, and is being held without a permit required of anyone else who would want to stage such an event on federal forest land. Ryan Nehl, deputy Forest Service supervisor on the Malheur and the agency administrator for the event, planned to take a permit form to organizers at the gathering spot June 21. “I don’t have a lot of faith they will sign it,” Nehl said. In that case, the Forest Service will impose an operational plan for the gathering to follow, and could take action if those conditions are violated...more

This double standard has been going on for a long time. They are a type of "occupier" - they just aren't treated that way.

Rainbow Gathering expected in Oregon

A loose-knit group known as the the Rainbow Family of Living Light is planning a gathering that could draw up to 20,000 people to Oregon from July 1 to July 7, according to a variety of sources, including law enforcement. It’s been held yearly since 1972, usually on remote sites, frequently on national forest land. While rumors have been consistent that it may take place in Southern Oregon, that’s not firm. “We don’t know where it’s going to be,” says Ashland Deputy Police Chief Warren Hensman. “At this point, we’re thinking perhaps Northern Oregon, but we have no idea ... It would take a lot of coordination to get that many people in and out of the forest, (and arrange for) water, sanitation — it’s a big job to coordinate something like that in two weeks, but we haven’t heard where it is.” The U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management concurs that they have not been given a specific location, but they are ready despite the fact they don’t believe the Rainbow Gathering has occurred in Oregon before. "Typically they choose National Forest Land,” says Jim Whittington of BLM. “They’ll make an announcement shortly. ... We’ll look at impacts and coordinate with other agencies to accommodate. It happens every year, there are a lot of people with experience working with this.” According a website associated with the Rainbow Gathering, they have been meeting on forest land since 1972 where they had a first gathering in Colorado. The purpose is described as a way of coming together to support the environment and peaceful negotiation with each other and the Earth...more

Forest Service to allow Rainbow Family to camp in Rio Grande National Forest

The U.S. Forest Service is allowing hundreds of people to camp in the Rio Grande National Forest, despite the fact that the gathering violates strict limits on the number of people allowed in those areas. Forest officials said it's almost impossible to enforce the limits because the campers have no leaders and no one who can give orders. Normally, any group of more than 75 people wanting to use the National Forest would be required to sign a group permit. Instead of a permit, the Forest Service developed an operating plan that outlines its expectations for how the Rainbow Family of Living Light will utilize National Forest resources. The plan includes parking only in marked-off areas, maintaining cleanliness and sanitation in kitchens and latrines, and not disturbing archaeological resources such as "wickiups," remnants of Ute shelters that can be difficult to distinguish from firewood. Angie Krall, acting district ranger for the national forest in southern Colorado, said the Rainbow Family was allowed to camp there because the group is exercising its constitutional rights to gather and exercise its religious beliefs...more

Rainbow Family Members Setting Black Hills Camp

HILL CITY, SD - Law enforcement officers continue to monitor growing numbers of aging hippies and other free spirits camped in the Black Hills National Forest. They call themselves the Rainbow Family of Living Light. And by early July, they could be eight or ten thousand strong in the isolated woods near Deerfield Reservoir. But early camper Adobe Kochina says Black Hills residents shouldn't worry about the group. "Just t a bunch of hippies in the woods," he says. It's a bunch with a 43-year history of mammoth gatherings in national forests across the country. The stated goal is to pray for peace and harmony, and enjoy time in beautiful forest environments with others of like attitudes. Drugs and crime sometimes follow along, however, and law-enforcement officers have already made drug and driving-related arrests involving people who came for the gathering. "I expect the majority of these people are here to enjoy the Black Hills, to enjoy the beauty of it, but it also always brings in a few people that are going to create the problem," says Capt. Jay Evenson of the Pennington County Sheriff's Office. "And what we've been running into are some of the harder drugs, whether it's methampetamine or speed, as well as marijuana. So we wante for those things." Evenson and other Pennington County Sheriff's officers are at the camp every day. So are resource managers and law-enforcement officers for the U.S. Forest Service. Their intent is to keep things peaceful and clean as possible and prevent damage to natural resources...more

Thousands attend Utah counterculture fest (Rainbow Family)

A graying man clad in a towering rainbow top hat and neon sunglasses raised a sunflower high above his head in a circle of three dozen listeners. “The thing about rainbows, the thing about this place, the thing about these people,” he said Tuesday before handing the flower to the next speaker, “is love.” The man known here as Glowing Feather is one of more than 4,000 who have trekked to the annual Rainbow Family gathering about 60 miles east of Salt Lake City. Some members greet visitors with smiles and “Welcome home,” or “Loving you.” Others ask whether newcomers are wearing a bra, invite them to play nude Frisbee or simply offer up a blunt. A council of group elders asks visitors to avoid bringing alcohol, but they stress that’s a request, not a rule. The Rainbow Family has no official creed or leaders. This week, the gathering is expected to double in size as more members pour into the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest for a four-day celebration that ends Friday. On Tuesday, about two dozen officers and a drug dog climbed the two-mile path up to various camp sites. “Leash your dogs!” Members called ahead of the officials. Forgetting to do so breaks the law in national forests. Authorities say a New Hampshire woman and a man from Texas at the celebration apparently died in their sleep, but they haven’t released details. Police also say a New Mexico woman at the campsite last week stabbed a participant, seriously injuring him. On July 4, members typically join to chant one “om” on the final day of the festival, praying for peace worldwide. “We’re sending it out through our voice and our body into the earth,” said Karena Gore, who travelled from Montana. Mike Dominguez, a father of four from Hawaii, was preparing to cook 500 pounds of pasta for the final day of the celebration...more

I'm with them on peace and love, and definitely the nude Frisbee...but 500 pounds of pasta?  Guess I'll be staying home on the 4th.