7 last night in the rain.  Again.  Oy, I'm getting tired of rain.

QOTD1 - Some combination of huge fine, parole, and community service would be good.

QOTD2 - We visit and pay the entry fees.  We try to teach our kids how to be responsible so someone else can enjoy it too.  That means we keep them off of sand dunes that took a couple thousand years to form and support a fragile ecosystem.  The parks that are closest to us, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, are both unique environments.  We try to visit each annually.

afternoon folks! will be running after work is wrapped up.

Congrats on the race kelly.

QOTD1: I will preface this with the following. I am a volunteer with the Boy Scouts. I served as a scout leader for a number of years. I am an Eagle Scout as well. The scouting program has done a lot of good for me throughout my life and I've seen the good it can bring out in a lot of youth.

I did some dumb things when I was a Scout, but haven't done as many dumb things as a leader.

These guys should get a fine and community service. Those calling for prison time, there's a lot worse crimes that people commit everyday and don't get prison time for. What they did was dumb (beyond dumb). They are going to be banned from Scouting for life.

Good scout leaders would have stopped the kids from jumping on top of the formations in the first place.

Probably URD -- tired and need to cover for the bride tonight

QOTD 1: Ideally 3 months in jail and being banned from National Parks. People can get jail time for property damage/theft. Why not here?

QOTD 2: Passes, donations of time and money, but not enough

The BSA has acted on the Scout Leaders

http://blog.utahscouts.org/news/boy-scouts-of-america-utah-national-parks-council-statement-on-goblin-valley-incident/

 

They've been removed from their leadership postions and are no longer part of the Boy Scouts of America

 

still no word from state or county officials. They're currently trying to determine the "monetary" damage caused by the men so they can determine what charges would be appropriate.

I just seen this and I expected it. The BSA couldn't let something like this go.

In retrospect my amount of jail time might be a little long but I really think that they need to do a lot of maintenance work in the parks. What angered me the most was the jumping around and high fiving.

strength training this evening- one of my best bench days in a looong time!

qotd: a few days in jail does wonders for folks-I'd push for at least a couple, restitution to the park and a statewide lifetime ban (appears to be a state park, not a national park)

qotd2: I opt in on my all of my vehicles for the state park's fees (it's an optional fee that isn't tied to entry fees- in Montana all resident vehicles get into state parks free); I patrolled state parks for 25 years- does that count

I just seen this and I expected it. The BSA couldn't let something like this go.

 

In retrospect my amount of jail time might be a little long but I really think that they need to do a lot of maintenance work in the parks. What angered me the most was the jumping around and high fiving.

Let's really get serious about this. I may be more offended than most people because this park is near where I live and I have a connection to it. These guys are entirely full of shit. Safety never entered their minds when they did this. They may have used it as an excuse, but it's all total BS. So let's agree on that and look at the real motivation. They are nothing more than vandals, destroying something that can never, ever be replaced. The scar they left will last forever. We can't fix this like we do a man made monument, it's forever taken from us for their own selfish reasons. They destroyed something that took millions of years to build.

They NEED to go to jail.

I sincerely hope that the self gratifying video they made will ruin their lives. Forever. I hope they will always be known for this act and nothing else. I want this to be the entire culmination of their miserable existence. I want them to be known as the assholes that took something that could NEVER be returned.

If they walk away from this, is it ok for more people to come in to the park and destroy the rest of them? So one day, they're all gone and forever forgotten? There's nowhere else on earth that these things exist. Something meaningful has to happen if we care about our parks.

This is much larger than the Boy Scouts. Who really cares that they can no longer camp with a handful off pre-pubescent kids? There's a serious criminal act here and it should be dealt with on a more serious level.

Some asshole recently sprayed paint on the Lincoln monument and the feds were all over it, despite being able to clean it up within hours. This damage can't be reversed. Ever.

An hourish along some trails near the water (see separate attention grabbing story).

QOTD 1: Bring back stocks on the square and baskets of rotten fruits and vegetables.  I would like to see them sentenced to something serious, but that will not bring the rocks back.  We see it out here when someone accidentally cuts down a really big tree (protected old growth).  A fine or public service time will not bring back the tree.  In the end I think public humiliation (stocks and rotten fruit/vegetables) is as good as anything else.

QOTD 2: Yes we do.  From now until next April we will be the maintenance crew for 30 miles of trails.  It is almost comical when, after a wind storm, the phone rings and someone asks, "Is this the chainsaw guy?"  "Yeth... "  We are spoiled with our trails and it is a privilege to continue to be able to take care of them.  It is a beautiful park.

editorial comment:  The budget cuts (reduced park staff = less enforcement) has led to vandalism and littering.  This year is worse than last year.  Last year was worse than 2011.  People know there are fewer rangers, fewer staff to monitor the parks.  A strange thing is that there are fewer volunteers than in earlier years--a few told me they don't volunteer any more because they don't like the current administration.  I am not into politics.  I love our parks and hope everyone finds a way to help the parks--city, county, state, or federal.