National Park Vandal

[beemerphile1]

Anyone know Casey Nocket? The feds are looking for her.

From Modern Hiker;


Apparently she is a New Yorker who went on a great western adventure this summer. She considers herself an artist and was having such a great time she decided to vandalize many of OUR National Parks.

Personally I wish that I would have met her on the trail while she was practicing her 'art'.

If you want to search the net, you will find a huge amount of information. Here are a couple pages to get you up to speed on the subject.

http://www.modernhiker.com/2014/10/21/instagram-artist-defaces-national-parks/

http://www.modernhiker.com/2014/10/23/why-the-creepytings-national-parks-vandalism-is-a-big-deal/

[Wrace]

I wonder if the punishment should fit our modern times a bit better than community service and the like.

What about she gets to foot a good portion of the clean-up bill and gets banned from facebook/twitter/instagram and the like for two years. And she is disallowed the use of a smartphone (phone with a camera) for the same two years.

This type of punishment takes away her ability to become an internet sensation and obtain the attention she most desperately craves.

I suspect she would opt for the community service long before she would give up the above.

[dewey02]

The NPS and other resource agencies take their protection role pretty seriously. I am sure they are pursuing this as we speak. And yes, they do work through the United States Attorney's office, who represents govt agencies in court. In my experience, I was in court with the US Attorney's Office on several occasions and was amazed at how quickly and professionally their attorneys learned and presented the agency's cases.

Let's be clear. Such vandalism is a clear violation of 36 CFR (code of Federal regulation). The LEOs (Law Enforcement Officers) at the impacted parks will work with the US Attorney's Office to build a case, issue violation citations and/or bring charges - if they determine a case can be made and there is a good chance of successful prosecution.

Signing petitions and writing letters may help some individuals feel better, but will likely have little influence on prosecution. And that is really how it should be. The evidence and the intent determines the case, not how many people who have no direct evidence feel that someone is guilty.

About Petitions: (just my opinion based on experience) Talking directly to a local official will many times (but certainly not always) get more prompt action. I have received many petitions through the years about various projects and actions. My experience has been this, either sitting down and having an honest face to face conversation with the local deciding officer, or writing a heartfelt and rational letter to the local deciding officer is FAR more effective than signing a petition or printing off a form letter from some web page. Those essentially get treated as a form letter, expressing a single thought, albeit one shared by however many people signed the petition or sent in the form letter. Agency decisions are made based on many factors, and public comment certainly plays a role, but agency decisions are not made based on a voting process of how many people are for or against an action.

[Dog_Folks]

Children,children,let's stop sniping at each other trying to prove whom is "right."

It is off topic and may get the thread closed, which would be a shame.

Moderator Note: Some off-topic, argumentative posts have been removed from the thread.

[D_E_Bishop]

beemerphile1 wrote:

korbe wrote:
when the Native Americans did it, it was considered historical and worth saving.

At that time the Native Americans owned/controlled the land. Now the citizens of the USA own/control the land through the government. She didn't get my permission!

When the First Nations People did petroglyphs and pictographs there were as many reasons for doing it as there are today, but there was no other medium available to them and it was their only way to preserve what they did on a daily or seasonal basis.

The gracious and loving Europeans had not brought their civilized way and their paper and pen and diseases here yet. Neither had Teddy Roosevelt established the first National Park or provided any real protection for the things we now consider National Treasures.

And that my fried is the deference between cultural history and cultural lawlessness.

[LewBob]

Regardless of how personal outrage can best be focused, I am curious about how the investigation of these crimes is going. At least 10 parks in five states are involved. Will the FBI get involved?

[Dog_Folks]

pasusan wrote:

Dog Folks wrote:

smkettner wrote:
She should stick to canvas and develop some actual talent.
Clean it up? No, let a pro do the work and let her pay.
Probation and ban from the parks until paid in full.

Not until paid in full.

Ban her for life.

Good idea, but how? Do we now have TSA agents at the entrances to our national parks?

No, but we have computer systems with data bases, that any LEO can access.

Can it stop her? NO. Can it help prosecute her if she is found on the land? Yes.

[pasusan]

Dog Folks wrote:

smkettner wrote:
She should stick to canvas and develop some actual talent.
Clean it up? No, let a pro do the work and let her pay.
Probation and ban from the parks until paid in full.

Not until paid in full.

Ban her for life.

Good idea, but how? Do we now have TSA agents at the entrances to our national parks?

[Dog_Folks]

smkettner wrote:
She should stick to canvas and develop some actual talent.
Clean it up? No, let a pro do the work and let her pay.
Probation and ban from the parks until paid in full.

Not until paid in full.

Ban her for life.

[time2roll]

She should stick to canvas and develop some actual talent.
Clean it up? No, let a pro do the work and let her pay.
Probation and ban from the parks until paid in full.

[shakyjay]

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Just because you think you are
Doesn't make it true

And I consider myself a poet......

[Gene_Ginny]

beemerphile1 wrote:
... She considers herself an artist ...

She isn't! Her stuff just looks like two bit junk graffiti done every day by the other brainless immature leaches on society.

[coolbreeze01]

She is thoughtless but will probably be given a scholarship to an art school.

Its classic dumbing down.....in action.

[Bumpyroad]

Wadcutter wrote:

The white house doesn't do the prosecution. The USA's office does. Complaining to the white house is just a feel-good but doesn't accomplish a thing. Making your desires known to the one actually making the decisions makes more sense. And USA's do listen.

.

no but they certainly have influence as to where enforcement activity is focused and where it is ignored.
bumpy

[Wadcutter]

LewBob wrote:

Fair enough, Wadcutter. I don't expect White House (or Congress) action on such a petition. Best to be a big-money, corporate lobbyist for that. Still, I'll take a "political feel-good" when I can get it. Rare enough these days. (In case anyone cares, it's simple enough to opt-out of the political e-mail list.)

The white house doesn't do the prosecution. The USA's office does. Complaining to the white house is just a feel-good but doesn't accomplish a thing. Making your desires known to the one actually making the decisions makes more sense. And USA's do listen.

monkey44 wrote:

X2 and X3 on that one -- planned from day ONE ! A $100 fine, and a $10,000 PR campaign FREE !

If I were her I wouldn't bet on getting by with just a $100 fine. Look up the track record for the USA in Utah. That office has been very active and successful of prosecuting vandalism on federal grounds and protecting federal lands. They've been getting some pretty hefty fines and jail time for convictions.

[tpi]

Certainly as part of her sentence she should be cleaning up her mess-so not a trace left. Then toss in some trash cleanup or trail maintenance under the supervision of an all-business female ranger.