goverment shut down, fed parks like the wild west with no supervision

[SusanMN]

Maybe we can get some of these park watchers to bring along some trash bags and poop scoops..

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Maybe we can get some of these park watchers to bring along some trash bags and poop scoops..

Why ? Littering, and not-picking up after your pooch already has prohibitions. Thus: There is no litter or dog poop.

 

[smokeythecat]

Fishing the hatchery...not really...if you ever look at the historical accounts, the locals and members of the Union army scavenged the battlefield almost before the smoke cleared and people have continued to do so for about a hundred years. Back in the day they were looking for spent and dropped lead primarily.

 

[Megalodon]

Maybe we can get some of these park watchers to bring along some trash bags and poop scoops..

You might be surprised at how many parks are run by volunteers. As parks have become de-funded, paid rangers have been let go and not replaced. Corporate donations pay for replacement picnic tables and bathroom facilities (why people destroy toilets and sinks is beyond me...). Most state parks in our state are run entirely by volunteers in uniform. There is no indication on the uniform that the ranger wearing it is a volunteer. Federal parks rely more on volunteers every year.

 

[SusanMN]

Why ? Littering, and not-picking up after your pooch already has prohibitions. Thus: There is no litter or dog poop.

? Have you looked at recent pictures of some national parks? And it’s not pet poop that needs to be cleaned up.

 

[Megalodon]

They get all the pay from when they were sitting on their butts when they go back to work. The unemployed are just on a vacation. I hope they saved up some money for the time they are not working and can relax.

Back pay for federal workers has been the custom for the last three federal furloughs but it is not guaranteed by any law.

 

[Megalodon]

? Have you looked at recent pictures of some national parks? And it’s not pet poop that needs to be cleaned up.

People are slobs. The litterers are responsible for the no trespassing, no fishing and no hunting signs. Pack it in, then pack it out.

 

[Duckshot]

? Have you looked at recent pictures of some national parks? And it’s not pet poop that needs to be cleaned up.

That's a negative consequence of over regulation. If I'm in the woods and I gotta drop a duece, I dig a hole, fill, then fill it back up with dirt. But you can't dig holes in the National parks. And you can't blame the duce droppers that are following the regulations they were provided with, can you?

 

[Tom_in_CA]

... ? ....

You're right. Durned them people that litter and don't pick up after their dog's poop. Breaking the rules. Tsk tsk.

... . If I'm in the woods and I gotta drop a duece, I dig a hole, fill, then fill it back up with dirt. But you can't dig holes in the National parks....

That's right. And I dunno what woods you're referring to, where you can "dig a hole if you gotta 'drop a duece' ", but I'll bet you that ... whatever entity administers that (even if not a National park), I bet that I can find some rule or law that forbids "alter", "deface" or "dig". So actually, you have to leave it on top of the ground ANYWHERE on ANY public land. Gotta follow the rules duckshot. Sorry.

 

[Icewing]

You can bet your @$$ that the law enforcement park rangers are still on duty and watching out for looter even if they aren't busting the litter bugs. Open or closed it's still a felony that can land you 20 years in a Federal prison, and not worth the risk.

 

[Duckshot]

That's right. And I dunno what woods you're referring to, where you can "dig a hole if you gotta 'drop a duece' ", but I'll bet you that ... whatever entity administers that (even if not a National park), I bet that I can find some rule or law that forbids "alter", "deface" or "dig". So actually, you have to leave it on top of the ground ANYWHERE on ANY public land. Gotta follow the rules duckshot. Sorry.

What if I leave it on the ground, it rains and migrates to the river, makes its way to the Mississippi, out past New Orleans, into the Gulf of Mexico, and winds up on a beach in Quintana Roo?

Where would we be then? -

Upstream I'll wager.

 

[Megalodon]

You can bet your @$$ that the law enforcement park rangers are still on duty and watching out for looter even if they aren't busting the litter bugs. Open or closed it's still a felony that can land you 20 years in a Federal prison, and not worth the risk.

While the number of rangers is at an all-time low, or at least a low since decent records were kept, the use of technology has largely offset the reduction in actual personnel. If the area is considered historically important, there are cameras at the very least and sometimes satellites. And you can be seen at night. So, "Smile, you're on candid camera".

Some of us just prefer to hunt without constantly looking over our shoulder...

 

[Dave Rishar]

After the last shutdown, the essential employees who were required to work without pay were awarded double time by a federal court that ruled it was illegal to require people to work for no pay. The additional pay was considered "damages".

Can you cite a source for this? This is not what happened in my neck of the woods.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

.... So, "Smile, you're on candid camera". ...

I am a docent, leading historical tours, at 2 such locations. And those cameras that you speak of, are only re-wound and watched, if there was something @ the next day, that they had reason to need to check. Eg.: if they saw evidence of holes, or something was stolen, etc...

And yes, they can be set to show only the parts of the night where motion was detected (ie.: no need to watch 10 hrs. of footage). So I asked head curator about that. He said that ... for awhile, he would do the command buttons, each morning, to see just those parts where motion had been detected. And every cotton picken time it was a stray cat. Or a moth that flies in front of the sensor. Or the night-time janitor. Or a branch blowing in the wind, etc.... So ... after a few days of that .... he no longer watches it.

I can't speak for every single park , but .... I am assuming they're probably the same: No one is watching those cameras live, and probably isn't rewinding them the next day. Unless they had reason to need to, based on something amiss.

 

[sprailroad]

Maybe we can get some of these park watchers to bring along some trash bags and poop scoops..

And to kill those pesky squirrels.

 

[Doubter in MD]

Can you cite a source for this? This is not what happened in my neck of the woods.

It's not cut and dried, but essential employees CAN receive double pay. A link to the article is shown below.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/shutdown-bonus-some-federal-workers-can-get-double-pay

 

[Rookster]

I thought the shut down meant, they work, but they just don't get paid.

No pay, no play. I’ll bet some rangers could care less if you hunt.

 

[wingmaster]

Well you can't detect in any state park or federal here, coins are supposedly not protected since there isn't any that they don't have a copy of or know of. Most of this stuff is rotting away in the ground and if they know where the sites are at and it's so important of a site how is it that somebody isn't collecting this important history already? Oh what am I talking about it's because the archaeologist want grant money and then have a bunch of volunteers to do all the real work, they will then take all the credit for the finds though. HH

 

[Tom_in_CA]

... Most of this stuff is rotting away in the ground ...

You remember the old proverb of : "If a tree falls in the woods, and no one was around to hear it, did it make a sound ?". So we can expand on that:

"If a coin rots away in the ground, and no one ever knew it was there, then was it really there ?"

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

These stories are written like this to remind the people that we could not exist if it were not for what they are doing. That the country would quickly fall apart if this shut down were to continue too long.

Can you believe someone kicked a 100-200 year old catcus tree??! That would not have happened if not for this shutdown.