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TCW

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  1. The Posse Comitatus Act (18 U.S.C. ยง 1385) and its' amendments are what prohibit the military from enforcing laws on civilians. DOD agencies have employed civilian law enforcement officers for many years. Great discretion is given to the agencies and base commanders. Some military bases use civilian LEOs and the military police to enforce the applicable regulations. Others depend on local LEOs to enforce state and local laws. Examples I am aware of are Fort Sill which has armed civilian game wardens with arrest powers as do the Quantico Marine Base and the Naval Air Engineering Center Lakehurst. The Philadelphia Naval Base has a civilian police force. Permanent employees that serve as National Park Law Enforcement Rangers attend the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center as do Forest Service, BLM and USFWS LEOs. Each agency also provides agency specific training and recertification training. Officers enforcing state laws outside their official federal jurisdictions receive additional training in accordance with the support agreements between the agencies involved.
  2. Grew up in Pennsylvania and camped there a lot. Have family that still owns cabins in the PA woods. The bears are Black bears and have a tendency to get into trash, garbage, BBQs and anything that smells like food if given the opportunity. Years ago, the bear hunting season in PA was suspended. The number of nuisance bear complaints rose each year until the hunting season was reinstated. Northern New Jersey has a high bear population which spills over into Northeastern PA. The governor of NJ recently suspended bear hunting on all state lands, so the bear population in those areas is likely rising and I am guessing the number of nuisance bear incidents is also. He plans to end all bear hunting in NJ after the 2020 season. If the area where you are leaving the RV is a sanctuary of sorts where no hunting can occur, I would be more concerned about them causing problems near human residences. Not sure what PA does these days about enforcing rules to help prevent bears from becoming habituated to humans. As someone else mentioned there are a number of smaller critters like mice, squirrels, woodrats and even raccoons that will find there way into vehicles and buildings and cause substantial damage.
  3. The Act was signed into law today.
  4. For those that might be interested, The Great American Outdoors Act passed in the Senate. It will now move to the House of Representatives.
  5. I have used electric collars on numerous hunting dogs since the mid 1970s. In my opinion they are most useful for avoidance training such as snake proofing and stopping chasing of cars deer, etc. They are often the only way to get compliance with commands at a distance when there is no physical connection between the handler and the dog. The first ones had one setting that was quite robust like a cattle prod. Some of these early systems used a single channel or very few channels so that there was a chance that another dog handlers transmitter would trigger other dogs collars. A power radios like CBs or ham radios in close proximity would sometimes trigger the collar. I think these problem have mostly been resolved. Today, many collars have multiple stimulation settings as well as tones and vibration. I prefer a collar with all three and a wide range of stimulation settings. Once a dog knows a command, the tone or vibration is often all that is necessary to get their attention and focus on the command(s). There are systems that can handle more than one collar from a single remote. Not all collars and transmitters are waterproof. Some state they are water resistant. Some collars with rechargeable batteries can not be opened to replace the batteries and are essentially throw aways. Good quality systems are not cheap.
  6. For those over 65 that are on Medicare and haven't been keeping track; according to the Medicare Website the new cards are mailing NOW for South Dakota.
  7. In case anyone missed it, this was the same day that this thread was started. Despite the announced closing date of July 31, it sounds like mail was already being returned to the senders by the postal service at the time this thread was started.
  8. Once citations are issued or informations filed; the law enforcement agency has little influence, beyond recommendations, on the actual penalty or penalties imposed. The minimum and maximum penalties are generally established by law. The U. S. Attorney prosecuting the case decides which charges to pursue and whether or not to offer/accept/recommend a plea deal and what penalties to seek. If the case goes to trial, the judge or jury (if that is an option) determines guilt and penalties within the guidelines established by applicable law(s). There are numerous high profile cases where charges have not been pursued or defendants who appeared clearly guilty have been acquitted.
  9. I did not say it was a National Park issue. Secretary Zink is the Secretary of Interior and as such is also responsible for the Bureau of Land Management. I was using the proposed legislation for National Parks as an example that perhaps the time was right for legislation to adequately fund other/all federal land management agencies. If enough people engage their elected officials perhaps some beneficial changes to public lands funding can be achieved.
  10. That will likely be as popular with ranchers that have grazing leases as raising camping fees is with RVers. But, it is a proposal worth making to Secretary Zink, your Congressional Representative and Senators (contact them and express your opinion). There is currently a bill (the National Park Restoration Act) working its way through Congress to fund the maintenance backlog at National Parks so awareness of the need for improved funding for public lands may be at a point where viable solutions will be given consideration.
  11. One of the problems with designation of areas as National Monuments by Executive Order is that the President can not authorize or appropriate funds. So, even if more protective rules/regulations are implemented, there is no change in the amount of money available to the managing agency. Any increased enforcement must come out of existing appropriated funds or additional congressional appropriations or increased fees. Discussions on this and other RV forums indicate that not all RVers favor increased fees just as some do not favor restrictions on dispersed camping that can and have been implemented on National Monuments.
  12. Bears Ears was federal land before designation as a National Monument, by Executive Order, and will continue to be so if/when the boundaries of the National Monument are adjusted. The provisions of the Antiquities Act apply to all federal lands not just National Monuments. "...That any person who shall appropriate, excavate, injure, or destroy any historic or prehistoric ruin or monument, or any object of antiquity, situated on lands owned or controlled by the Government of the United States, without the permission of the Secretary of the Department of the Government having jurisdiction over the lands on which said antiquities are situated, shall, upon conviction, be fined...or be imprisoned for a period of ..., or shall suffer both fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court..." Existing federal lands were designated as Bears Ears National Monument by Executive Order. Executive Orders can be rescinded or modified by subsequent Executive Orders. The Antiquities Act (passed and signed into law in 1906) states "...That the President of the United States is hereby authorized, in his discretion, to declare by public proclamation historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest that are situated upon the lands owned or controlled by the Government of the United States to be national monuments, and may reserve as a part thereof parcels of land, the limits of which in all cases shall be confined to the smallest area compatible with proper care and management of the objects to be protected..." It is relatively recently that the Antiquities Act has been applied to areas in the hundreds of thousands of acres rather than seeking designation through an act of Congress. Activists and lobbyists love this approach because they have to convince relatively few people compared to getting a bill through Congress and signed into law. Objections from affected states and local communities have occurred in the East and over the designation of marine areas not just in the western states.
  13. I think that some people may bring up the wage comparisons because RV volunteering is often recommended on this and other RV forums as a way to stretch the budget/save money on camping fees. There are often discussions about how many hours are appropriate/tolerable (money comparison? maybe, maybe not). Most local volunteers for public agencies and soup kitchens do not get free rent, propane, etc., no matter how many hours they volunteer. The income tax rules/regulations allow volunteers for public agencies and charities to receive compensation in the form of housing/RV site with no tax liability. In comparison, State department rules/regulations consider such nonmonetary compensation as prohibited income for noncitizens that do not have an appropriate visa or work authorization. So it is difficult for say Canadians to volunteer and receive a free campsite. Those that do not have the proper visa/work authorization can volunteer (just like members of the local community) if they pay for their campsite or provide their own lodging elsewhere. We volunteer for Habitat for Humanity. A typical work week is 32-40 hours. We pay for our RV site. Sometimes it is a nominal charge to cover utilities other times it is more or we have to stay at a local campground that may or may not give a discount. Some affiliates may provide snacks at coffee break or lunch. The interest in the Escapees Habitat for Humanity BOF was low and it disbanded.
  14. While recreation is currently an aspect of the land management agencies you mention, their original missions are different. The Corps lakes are mostly for flood control, The Bureau of Reclamation's mission was to promote economic development by providing power and water in the Western states. The Tennessee Valley Authorities primary mission is to provide electric power. There is somewhat of a trend within the Corps to have the lands and recreation management managed by other agencies. For example, recreation and land management at Santa Rosa Lake, NM is managed as a State Park. The dam is managed by the Corps. At Kanopolis Lake In Kansas, some of the campgrounds are managed by the state park system and large tracts of the land are managed as a Wildlife area by the state. The current law, the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, requires that 80% of the fees collected be spent at the facility where they are collected. The other 20% can be redistributed by the agency.
  15. It might save the Federal government money, but I am not sure the states could run things all that much cheaper. Labor rates may be lower or higher depending on the state. Many states already charge entrance fees and the camping fees are generally higher than for non-concession Park Service campgrounds. Most states do not give discounts to non-residents, so things like the senior pass that many on this forum hold sacred might be gone for all but residents of each particular state. We are really talking about peanuts when talking about the Park Service budget. The 2016 appropriation was $2.851 billion of the $3.95 trillion federal budget. That's less than 0.08%. The Park Service budget is less than the budget of Austin, TX and many other cities. It is less than the $4.309 billion budget for the House of Representatives and Senate combined and far less than the $660 billion in Affordable Care Act health insurance subsidies. Another funding mechanism that has been suggested over the years, is the institution of an excise tax on all camping, hiking, outdoor recreation equipment and RVs, ATVs, etc. similar to the ones on fishing tackle, firearms and ammunition. This proposal has met opposition from some in the recreation industry and some user groups. When it comes down to it, nobody wants to pay the bills through taxes even though the approximately 50% that actually pay federal taxes already are. I doubt that politicians will want to give up their control of the Park Service budget, because it is one of the ways that they can tell their constituents, look what I did for you by getting funding for X,Y,Z at your local National Park.
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