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smoke
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Zulu: "Because all the campgrounds here in central Colorado are full, I went into the Gunnison National Forest to disperse camp. This was also a national grazing area and there was some cattle here and there. As I entered the forest, there was a kiosk like when you enter many national recreation area only there was nothing on it except two notes. One said “Because of repeated vandalism, maps and information will no longer be posted”. The other said “$5000 reward for information leading to arrest of persons who harmed cattle recently”.
It was a great place to camp, and afterwards, I went to the Ranger Station in town to get water. I asked the Ranger about the vandalism and incident with cattle. He said the vandalism was shooting the kiosk and graffiti. The incident with the cattle was more hideous. Someone had driven those OHVs that look like a Lunar Rover to chase down calves until they died from fear or exhaustion. He said those machines are nimble and can tear through vegetation and go anywhere, unlike a Jeep.
They suspect it was 14 year old boys with immature brains thinking they were cowboys or something. I believe the ranchers put up the reward money. They would probably deal with whoever did that harshly.
Things like that can get land closed off to use by campers, hikers and hunters fast when it involves someone losing money and harming animals." The major damage to western federal land for the past 150 years is erosion caused by overgrazing. Federal agencies charge $1.35 for a full month's for a cow-calf pair or five domestic sheep, the same rates charged when the agency first set rates for public land grazing for large ranches boarding federal land 50 years ago. The rental fees charged for comparable livestock grazing on private lands aver $32.40 per head across 16 western states according to a 2019 report by the Congressional Research Service. The Federal Agencies have yet to figure out what to do about animal trespass by large ranches other than to ignore the damage.
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mooseplums
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Makes my blood boil
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shock
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is that first pic a shelter someone made at a campsite ????
yes pass the word , lead by example , educate ;)
i dont have a problem with the last pic , i'll cut that wood up, nice and dry
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mychurchmyhome
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This season has been extremely hard on the Superior National Forest and the BWCAW, Nationally, even. We need to collectively educate each other, spread awareness, and the original love and feeling for wilderness. Report any nonsense to local agencies.
  
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airmorse
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That's an awful lot of trees that were cut to make that shelter. Unbelievable. How can someone do that!?!?!? Makes me sad. I hope you notified the USFS :-(
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KDaily
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Bushcraft wanna be's. People think they have to go out and survive the wilderness instead of becoming part of it.
Those pictures sadden me.
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DeanL
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It's depressing that after all the stuff we've all experienced first hand, heard from someone or seen pictures of this summer this doesn't even surprise me anymore.
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mcsweem
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shock: "is that first pic a shelter someone made at a campsite ????
yes pass the word , lead by example , educate ;)
i dont have a problem with the last pic , i'll cut that wood up, nice and dry"
I don't believe that 1st or 2nd picture is the bwca, the 2nd one has a picnic table in it
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Savage Voyageur
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Love your quote line. Sad pictures indeed.
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thegildedgopher
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KDaily: "Bushcraft wanna be's. People think they have to go out and survive the wilderness instead of becoming part of it.
Those pictures sadden me. "
Yeah somebody’s watched too many seasons of ALONE on History channel and wanted to play bushcraft too I guess. Shaking my head.
As said earlier — picnic bench in the 2nd pic seems questionable for Bwca? I spy an awfully heavy battery that wouldn’t be much fun to portage either. Doesn’t make the scene any less pitiful.
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Pinetree
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The dark side rises in human behavior
Voyaguers National park and the BWCA has seen unreal levels of vandelism this year.
A side note but definitely related to whats going on: I have seen the boom in ATV use and 100% disregard of where they go and the damage they are doing. They don't care and they get a kick how much turf they can dig up and if you have a main designated trail-all that is the super highway to branch off wherever they want. They have a new trail just south of White iron and Kawishiwi river already getting ripped up.
We have a new attitude out there-I have a right to do whatever I want-some of the vandalism is definitely on purpose.
Like the Superior National Forest staff a fraction of what it use to be in numbers and the back lash by certain groups if they do enforce anything, they are hesitant to do law enforcement now because they have fewer people backing them up. Time for all law enforcement agents to start doing concentration field checks in numbers the next few weeks.
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mjmkjun
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Nice post, brownbearE.
I gotta comment about the blatant, gross violation of makeshift 'cabin'. Whoever you are, you've got an excellent skill set! Look how neat and well-made it is. I think people want to recapture a feel for the frontier days and all that romanticizing of the wild, wild west. The thing is, the world has moved on and it's protected because human beings will tramp down everything in the name of profit.
Now, I feel compelled to add, you've been a very, very bad boy!
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Blatz
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I would just encourage no banners of any kind. I bring a Chicago Cubs W flag to different places for pictures, but not in the BW. A banner takes away from the natural world. Yeah, I know some people have orange tents, but that's where they sleep, not decoration.
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thistlekicker
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The pandemic is bringing out the worst in people, drawing people to places they otherwise wouldn't go, and limiting enforcement. This is a bad combination for our public lands and wilderness areas. Lead by example, call out bad behavior, and do your best to end the pandemic.
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mychurchmyhome
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dispersed site, outside the wilderness, on the forest.
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mychurchmyhome
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mychurchmyhome
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pswith5
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Purple banners are ok though right??
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scat
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And a Chicago Cubs W banner REALLY takes away from the natural world. That’s just wrong anywhere.
Sorry, couldn’t resist.
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Pinetree
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Blatz: "I would just encourage no banners of any kind. I bring a Chicago Cubs W flag to different places for pictures, but not in the BW. A banner takes away from the natural world. Yeah, I know some people have orange tents, but that's where they sleep, not decoration."
Agree, you're not there to advertise. You're there to fit in and be noticed as little as possible. Not seen or heard is a good policy.
The log shelter built... I really wonder where that picture is from?
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Blatz
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scat: "And a Chicago Cubs W banner REALLY takes away from the natural world. That’s just wrong anywhere.
Sorry, couldn’t resist."
Cardinals or White Sox fan, eh? Right now, I'm just glad there's any baseball.
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Zulu
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Because all the campgrounds here in central Colorado are full, I went into the Gunnison National Forest to disperse camp. This was also a national grazing area and there was some cattle here and there. As I entered the forest, there was a kiosk like when you enter many national recreation area only there was nothing on it except two notes. One said “Because of repeated vandalism, maps and information will no longer be posted”. The other said “$5000 reward for information leading to arrest of persons who harmed cattle recently”.
It was a great place to camp, and afterwards, I went to the Ranger Station in town to get water. I asked the Ranger about the vandalism and incident with cattle. He said the vandalism was shooting the kiosk and graffiti. The incident with the cattle was more hideous. Someone had driven those OHVs that look like a Lunar Rover to chase down calves until they died from fear or exhaustion. He said those machines are nimble and can tear through vegetation and go anywhere, unlike a Jeep.
They suspect it was 14 year old boys with immature brains thinking they were cowboys or something. I believe the ranchers put up the reward money. They would probably deal with whoever did that harshly.
Things like that can get land closed off to use by campers, hikers and hunters fast when it involves someone losing money and harming animals.
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jhb8426
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I really like the logs at the fire ring in the second picture. It always amazes me the size logs people try to burn, and then walk away and leave them when they fail to ignite. Obviously no knowledge of how to make a fire. Similar in the last picture trying to stuff a 4 or 5 ft log into the grate.
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walllee
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Sad...
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coffeetalk
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jhb8426: "I really like the logs at the fire ring in the second picture. It always amazes me the size logs people try to burn, and then walk away and leave them when they fail to ignite. Obviously no knowledge of how to make a fire. Similar in the last picture trying to stuff a 4 or 5 ft log into the grate."
I found this gem on Wood Lake where I stopped for lunch and to filter some water on my way out last week. Campsite trashed
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