BLM access about to be lost
There is a fantastic BLM dispersed camping site in Colorado on the Arkansas River that is in danger of being converted from free BLM camping to an expensive, reservation only campground run by the sta...
Forum Discussion
Well, I have read all of the arguments back and forth to this point, and I have no clear opinion on this particular BLM site because I don't know enough. But let's pull up to 30,000 feet and survey the landscape. Here are some things I think everyone can agree on, and then the question is what to do:
We all love boondocking -- there is nothing like it.
Most boondockers take good care of the land.
A few don't. They leave trash and trample the foliage with their vehicles.
The government simply does not have the resources to police misbehavior.
It is unsafe for fellow boondockers to confront the bad guys, who are often drunk and armed.
As the bad guys wander the landscape, there will be pressure for the government to cut back on all boondocking.
So if nothing is done, the bad guys will spoil everything, and we will all be crammed into noisy campgrounds.
What can be done? Many of you who frequent this site know what I am going to say -- we should have a program of annual boondocking passes, with a modest fee. The fee will serve two purposes. First, it will provide some additional enforcement muscle for the rangers. Not a complete solution, but better than nothing.
Second, and most significantly, many, if not most, of the bad guys will not buy passes and will fail to display the required sticker. That will result in a hefty ticket. Second and third offenses could result in harsher penalties.
This sounds like a loser for those of us who boondock, but it is not. The fee program spreads the inevitable costs of bad boondocking (trash and erosion) across the entire group of boondockers, and the stickers would reduce the amount of bad boondocking that takes place.
It seems to me that this is a solution that cuts across political lines. It is not a tax. It is precisely a user fee.
I look forward to your constructive comments on this, and I hope that the discussion will return to its usual civil tone. Note that "hope" and "expect" are not the same thing.
And finally, this is not a hijack of the thread -- it is an attempt to put the narrow issue of this particular BLM area into a larger context.
We all love boondocking -- there is nothing like it.
Most boondockers take good care of the land.
A few don't. They leave trash and trample the foliage with their vehicles.
The government simply does not have the resources to police misbehavior.
It is unsafe for fellow boondockers to confront the bad guys, who are often drunk and armed.
As the bad guys wander the landscape, there will be pressure for the government to cut back on all boondocking.
So if nothing is done, the bad guys will spoil everything, and we will all be crammed into noisy campgrounds.
What can be done? Many of you who frequent this site know what I am going to say -- we should have a program of annual boondocking passes, with a modest fee. The fee will serve two purposes. First, it will provide some additional enforcement muscle for the rangers. Not a complete solution, but better than nothing.
Second, and most significantly, many, if not most, of the bad guys will not buy passes and will fail to display the required sticker. That will result in a hefty ticket. Second and third offenses could result in harsher penalties.
This sounds like a loser for those of us who boondock, but it is not. The fee program spreads the inevitable costs of bad boondocking (trash and erosion) across the entire group of boondockers, and the stickers would reduce the amount of bad boondocking that takes place.
It seems to me that this is a solution that cuts across political lines. It is not a tax. It is precisely a user fee.
I look forward to your constructive comments on this, and I hope that the discussion will return to its usual civil tone. Note that "hope" and "expect" are not the same thing.
And finally, this is not a hijack of the thread -- it is an attempt to put the narrow issue of this particular BLM area into a larger context.
