T
TreasureTales
Guest
[emphasis added.]JScottWood said:...Sure, I like to just kick the real nutters out the door and tell 'em to stay the hell off my Forest....
Scott
Scott, this type of statement is all too typical of FS, BLM, and PS personnel. The fact of the matter is all of you are stewards of the public lands. As such, it is no more nor less your land than it is mine. You may have made the above statement partially in jest, but I have personally experienced this same attitude from many of the government employees I've met -- although I have never met you.
I am not interested in YOUR national forest, I'm interested in another one that "belongs" to some other government employees. But from one forest, park, or rangeland to another, the mindset seems to be similar. And that mindset seems to be that the government employees are not merely stewards of the land FOR THE PUBLIC'S BENEFIT, but that those same employees feel that the public lands are to be "protected" FROM THE PUBLIC. Although it is a fact that there is a faction of the public that would destroy anything and everything if given half a chance, the same should not be ASSUMED of the ENTIRE population. In a court of law, a defendant is considered innocent unless/until proven guilty. However, when it comes to public lands, too many of us are treated as if we were guilty of something just by virtue of being there.
Scott, you seem as if you are a dedicated employee and for that I respect you. However, when you make statements about laughing at some people or about shredding their applications, such statements lessen your credibility with me and also lessen my respect for the job you do. ALL people willing to take the time to file a Treasure Trove permit should be given some respect because they went to the trouble of filling out the forms. Their reasons and documentation may be laughable to you, but at least they are trying to abide by the rules. Government rules are difficult to interpret and to follow, as we all know from firsthand knowledge in our daily lives (whether the rules pertain to tax forms, mining claims, treasure trove permits, etc.), and therefore anyone and everyone attempting to do "the right thing" should be given respect. I'm sure you get many crackpots, but apparently even some of them are attempting to adhere to the laws. Do they not deserve respect, or at least some credit, for doing so?
I'm sure you have a difficult job to do, and I'm sure you'd like to have a larger budget with which to work. Perhaps priorities need to be re-evaluated. Perhaps your own input to your superiors could affect those priorities. Why preserve public lands when the public is denied access or when the public is treated all to often like the enemy? We're not all money-hungry, gold-at-any-cost people...we're often more closely related to mystery solvers and history buffs, and that isn't too different from archaeologists.
If I sound bitter, I am. I'm tired of the double standards, I'm sick of being treated like an inconvenience when I visit a FS office, and I'm frustrated that the things I enjoy doing are becoming increasingly regulated and restricted. (I remember when owning a gun was legal and owning a pot plant wasn't!) I remember when picking up a pretty rock in the national forest wouldn't bring the wrath of the federal government down on me. And I remember when somebody in a green vehicle was an ally and not an adversary. I miss those days.
Mike in California