Georgia -- Rainbow Family Gathering near Nimblewill, road closures

[Zea]

I prefer doing my drugs and having my dirty sweaty group sex at my own home.

To each their own.

Hikers are far from perfect as well, doesn't mean the whole lot of them are 'good' or 'bad'.

[Nimblewill]

Are folks so naive about the forest ecosystem to think picking up the trash makes this OK? What about the public health threats from water contamination?

How about the norovirus and tainted watersheds this flash mob leaves behind? Or spreads? Look it up, and add abandoned pets, rotavirus, typhoid (yes, it spread too, out from the event--flying, anyone?), unpaid local hospital bills ($175k for the locals where the freeloaders hit in 2012...)

No, the uptick in sales at the Dahlonega WalMart won't cover the $500k the USFS LE&I Incident Command Team, 30-40 federal officers brought in from all over the country, will cost. And the 50 extra Georgia State Patrol troopers. Mobile cell tower at Nimblewill Church, other comms set ups...ride by Station 6, Nimblewill, SR 52. We're paying for that--at the expense of trail maintenance---the Chattahoochee NF already scores only 29% of trails complying w/ USFS standards. Why not taint more of this busy and under-patrolled, un-maintained area so some self-indulgent "hippies" can freeload in our forest. And leave a public health threat from their behinds. How "ecology minded". Where's the port-a-johns? Even the AT has proper privies, and not thousands using them daily at a few sites, laying around for weeks..when not destroying nature.

Abandoned pets, children (missing minors), parvo outbreaks, typhoid even--look it up, before you fly with the returning "down to earth" "hippies". No bond, no permit, no one held to account...bring on the K-9s, if it sends them off somewhere else. Lumpkin County is too poor to be leached off of by outside leaches.

We locals didn't ask for this ambush invasion, and the criminal "drainbows" who tag along, we're laying in wait..the local outlaws and thieves are enough of a high-stakes game, and not enough LEOs to deal with them, but the team here will cost a lot of folks -- criminal charges, towing costs, fines...but the county will still be victimized, and subsidize this sham "peace, love" and lice gathering.

What's next, USFS?, letting the ATV Club take over the AT? The Land Rovers club trash the roads...we have elements of both causing harm already. Any more, and we forest neighbors will show these selfish freeloaders how protective we are of what's precious. Starting with defending our water, our property, and then we push back to defend our dignity. If these freeloaders who came to arrogantly destroy our public land don't get a federal or state ticket while here, they should.

You or I couldn't do this obnoxious selfish crap, and they shouldn't be allowed to either. And for you illegal flash mob supporters, who among you are taking care of the children DFCS just had to take in with these arrests? Some narcotics carrying mommy and daddy came to get nekkid and drugged--more than one case, for sure, but today's custody hold of a 3,5,7, and 9 yr old taken at a narcotics bust--streamed on the Lumpkin scanner online, gives a more honest picture of what our LEOs are dealing with...and dogs, like pit bulls, not on leashes. And belligerent folks blatantly violating forest rules, disrespectful of our forest protectors.

Charge them all with violating USFS rules---this can't go unanswered. We don't want a precedent here for the local redneck "trash the forest laws be damned" crowd to mimic. All that "love and peace" crap is just veneer covering selfish behavior. And we are paying for it. Post a clean-up and medical support bond, get a permit, be accountable for your scoped and approved event, and take your crap with you, otherwise, go to jail. We'll bring the school buses, and put you in the football field, under lights.

And don't come back, freeloaders. We locals might be upset. We don't forget those who trample over us and ignore our public forest rules.

[Puddlefish]

Well, that's a disturbing fascist political rant.

[jackwagon]

On the website posted above, https://www.welcomehome.org/tech/cleanup/index.html the group links to FS documents. I only read the 1999 FS impact study https://www.welcomehome.org/sites/pa...9fsreport1.htm, and the impact even after trash removal seems pretty grim. From the report, '- Wildlife and Plant Species of Concerns: Family members reported several sightings of rattlesnakes during the gathering. One participant was bitten and transported to a local medical facility. One Family member reported that a dog had allegedly captured and killed an northern water shrew. The site has been reviewed by the Pennsylvania Game Commission. In their opinion, the "damage to the area wildlife populations was devastating and will be felt for years." "Many wildlife species were unable to complete their reproduction cycle because of human disturbance and/or nest destruction by either the people or the thousands of dogs they brought with them."'

There are also quite a few other concerning items noted.

[Last Call]

It's all Peace, Love, and Rock-n-Roll....what's a few dead flowers here and there compared to the energy and enlightenment exuded by this wonderful gathering? At least they are not protesting....

[Feral Bill]

Compare the damage done by this activity to any of hundreds of resource extraction projects happening on FS land nation wide. It's trivial.

[DownYonder]

Compare the damage done by this activity to any of hundreds of resource extraction projects happening on FS land nation wide. It's trivial.

So, it's ok for me to throw our plastic drink bottles into the ocean when blue water fishing because the cruise ships dump so much more? Sorry, doesn't make it ok!

[Feral Bill]

So, it's ok for me to throw our plastic drink bottles into the ocean when blue water fishing because the cruise ships dump so much more? Sorry, doesn't make it ok!

I'm going to be more concerned with the cruise ship, mass dumping, over fishing. offshore drilling and such. But no your trivial littering is still not right.

[Puddlefish]

I think a lot of people don't understand about cumulative effect caused by individuals. Concentrating the people into groups, easily illustrates the impact of pollution, litter and overuse of packaging. It's just easier to see it, but it's not necessarily any worse than what we do in small groups.

On the trail, at home, on a cruise ship, in a Hippie festival, it's still one person at a time, using a plastic bottle once and immediately disposing of it. It's the mindset of "what I do, won't matter all that much, I'm only one person" multiplied a few billion times.

I end up polluting more when I'm on the trail for distance hikes than I do at any other activity in my life. I burn through plastic bags to keep my food dry, fresh, vermin free, and lightweight. Yeah, I hike them out, but they still go into landfills, or are burned, or to wherever that trash container is emptied into.

[Last Call]

Plastic, disposable water bottles are an abomination, and should be outlawed, along with the plastic straws.

[BuckeyeBill]

The annual Rainbow Family Gathering has selected the Bull Mountain area near Nimblewill as the site of their gathering. This affects usage, road closures and impact on the area. Forest Service estimates that it may attract 5000 to 10,000 people peaking on July 4. Rainbow Gathering sources estimate that the number may be as high as 20,000.

FS-77 (Winding Stair Gap Rd) from near Nimblewill all the way to FS-42 (Cooper Gap Road) is closed due to traffic concerns. This would affect access to Springer Mountain, Three Forks, Hawk Mountain if you planned on going up FS-77 from near Dahlonega.

Here is a link to the information on the Forest Service site:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/conf/...d=FSEPRD583342

and a map of the area and affected roads:
Attachment 42954

The organizers for the first Woodstock Festival in 1969 also thought their numbers would be low as well. Well I guess they were wrong, as more than 400,000 people showed up. They finally quit charging and just let people in. The clean up took about two weeks, with many concert attendees helping out. People also just abandoned their cars on the small country roads that led to the concert.

[gpburdelljr]

The organizers for the first Woodstock Festival in 1969 also thought their numbers would be low as well. Well I guess they were wrong, as more than 400,000 people showed up. They finally quit charging and just let people in. The clean up took about two weeks, with many concert attendees helping out. People also just abandoned their cars on the small country roads that led to the concert.

In a news article yesterday the USFS estimated there were 4,500 people, quite a bit less than the 10,000 to 20,000 that some were expecting.

https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/30-...sued/782942280

[Last Call]

But why are the police arresting those peace loving nature enthusiasts? Using 4 or 5 tow trucks at a time is nothing more than harassment.

[Tipi Walter]

Compared to much of what happens on Forest Service land (including valuable, well executed projects), it cant be too bad.

Agree.

Are folks so naive about the forest ecosystem to think picking up the trash makes this OK? What about the public health threats from water contamination?

How about the norovirus and tainted watersheds this flash mob leaves behind? Or spreads? Look it up, and add abandoned pets, rotavirus, typhoid (yes, it spread too, out from the event--flying, anyone?), unpaid local hospital bills ($175k for the locals where the freeloaders hit in 2012...)

No, the uptick in sales at the Dahlonega WalMart won't cover the $500k the USFS LE&I Incident Command Team, 30-40 federal officers brought in from all over the country, will cost. And the 50 extra Georgia State Patrol troopers. Mobile cell tower at Nimblewill Church, other comms set ups...ride by Station 6, Nimblewill, SR 52. We're paying for that--at the expense of trail maintenance---the Chattahoochee NF already scores only 29% of trails complying w/ USFS standards. Why not taint more of this busy and under-patrolled, un-maintained area so some self-indulgent "hippies" can freeload in our forest. And leave a public health threat from their behinds. How "ecology minded". Where's the port-a-johns? Even the AT has proper privies, and not thousands using them daily at a few sites, laying around for weeks..when not destroying nature.

Abandoned pets, children (missing minors), parvo outbreaks, typhoid even--look it up, before you fly with the returning "down to earth" "hippies". No bond, no permit, no one held to account...bring on the K-9s, if it sends them off somewhere else. Lumpkin County is too poor to be leached off of by outside leaches.

We locals didn't ask for this ambush invasion, and the criminal "drainbows" who tag along, we're laying in wait..the local outlaws and thieves are enough of a high-stakes game, and not enough LEOs to deal with them, but the team here will cost a lot of folks -- criminal charges, towing costs, fines...but the county will still be victimized, and subsidize this sham "peace, love" and lice gathering.

What's next, USFS?, letting the ATV Club take over the AT? The Land Rovers club trash the roads...we have elements of both causing harm already. Any more, and we forest neighbors will show these selfish freeloaders how protective we are of what's precious. Starting with defending our water, our property, and then we push back to defend our dignity. If these freeloaders who came to arrogantly destroy our public land don't get a federal or state ticket while here, they should.

You or I couldn't do this obnoxious selfish crap, and they shouldn't be allowed to either. And for you illegal flash mob supporters, who among you are taking care of the children DFCS just had to take in with these arrests? Some narcotics carrying mommy and daddy came to get nekkid and drugged--more than one case, for sure, but today's custody hold of a 3,5,7, and 9 yr old taken at a narcotics bust--streamed on the Lumpkin scanner online, gives a more honest picture of what our LEOs are dealing with...and dogs, like pit bulls, not on leashes. And belligerent folks blatantly violating forest rules, disrespectful of our forest protectors.

Charge them all with violating USFS rules---this can't go unanswered. We don't want a precedent here for the local redneck "trash the forest laws be damned" crowd to mimic. All that "love and peace" crap is just veneer covering selfish behavior. And we are paying for it. Post a clean-up and medical support bond, get a permit, be accountable for your scoped and approved event, and take your crap with you, otherwise, go to jail. We'll bring the school buses, and put you in the football field, under lights.

And don't come back, freeloaders. We locals might be upset. We don't forget those who trample over us and ignore our public forest rules.

I get your rant. I went to the 1987 National Gathering in NC (near Tapoco) and it was certainly a cluster. But your lice comment reminds me of Col Chivington who massacred a bunch of Cheyenne Indians at Sand Creek in 1864. When asked why slaughter women and children, he said "Because nits make lice".

Compare the damage done by this activity to any of hundreds of resource extraction projects happening on FS land nation wide. It's trivial.

Totally agree and have pics to prove FS destruction of our public lands thru logging and road building and allowing paved tourist roads to be built after forest land is given to county tourist boards---which then become loud motorcycle racetracks, i.e. the Cherohala Skway in TN/NC. 10,000+ humans on a little bit of forest land for a couple weeks is nothing compared to the permanent scars left by bulldozed roads to get in for logging.

[Last Call]

Agree with Tipi Walter on the loud motorcicles....why do those things have to be so loud? I wish the authorities would enforce the noise ordinances....

[JC13]

Agree with Tipi Walter on the loud motorcicles....why do those things have to be so loud? I wish the authorities would enforce the noise ordinances....

Because someone thought it would make people think it was ok by saying that loud motorcycles save lives.

[George]

But why are the police arresting those peace loving nature enthusiasts? Using 4 or 5 tow trucks at a time is nothing more than harassment.

attendees of the rainbow gatherings ignore rules, guidelines, etiquette, etc in their use of forest service facilities - they create hazards with alchohol/ drug use / overcrowding - then park illegally blocking access for emergency vehicles - and you want to call towing "harassment" - might want to remove the blinders

since they do not get permits, there is no room to complain about how the forest service deals with the issues they create

[gpburdelljr]

attendees of the rainbow gatherings ignore rules, guidelines, etiquette, etc in their use of forest service facilities - they create hazards with alchohol/ drug use / overcrowding -

Kind of like some AT hikers.

[George]

Kind of like some AT hikers.

yeah, but when you are spread over 2000 miles enforcement goes from difficult ........ to near impossible

[Last Call]

attendees of the rainbow gatherings ignore rules, guidelines, etiquette, etc in their use of forest service facilities - they create hazards with alchohol/ drug use / overcrowding - then park illegally blocking access for emergency vehicles - and you want to call towing "harassment" - might want to remove the blinders

since they do not get permits, there is no room to complain about how the forest service deals with the issues they create

welp...at least the local hayseeds are raking in some of the dough....it's all about the revenue!