1. Letters
2. Gatherers File FOIA, Release '99 Resource Report
3. Scouts Consider Sensitive Wildlife, Cultures
4. Peace Solutions: Notification v. Permit
5. Official Disapproval, "emergency" money chills Gatherings?

>---------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Letters: Note from Gathering Volunteers Dear Grapevine, Please share this -- Gathering of the Tribes 2000 is coming this summer to public lands somewhere in the Montana-Idaho region. This consensus was reached among attendees at the annual Gathering in Pennsylvania last summer. Anyone interested in receiving a Howdy Folks (site announcement) for "Gathering of the Tribes 2000" should send a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) to: Gathering 2000, PMB 512, 1001 E. Broadway, Missoula, MT 59802. Email inquiries can be sent to "unofficial" gathering2000@welcomehome.org>.

The main days of the Gathering are July 1-7. Site selection is expected in early June. Announcements will be sent out soon after that. For individuals needing to make travel plans sooner, major regional airports include Spokane, Boise, Missoula, Great Falls and Billings."

General information about Gatherings is available at the "unofficial" welcome home webpage; . Gatherings are traditionally free and open to all individuals who come in the spirit of Peace and sharing.

Good things to bring include: camping gear, rain gear, bulk foods, water filter, propane stoves, an open mind and a loving attitude.

- PEACE, pmb512

2. Gatherers make Allegheny resource report available to Public: "...resource impacts have been adequately addressed, mitigated, or rehabilitated." - says District Ranger

Missoula (MT) - Montana Activist Barry Adams announced last week that the Allegheny District "Final Impact Summary" and "Health report" concerning last summers "Rainbow" gathering are now publicly available on the worldwide web. The 1999 Gathering of the Tribes was held on the Marienville Ranger District of Allegheny National Forest. "Gathering of the Tribes 2000" is heading for Montana or Idaho this summer (Grapevine #1 - March --). Adams and William Thomas were required to file a formal Freedom of Information Act request to receive this and other public documents concerning the 1999 Gathering.

The report's resource assessments address soil impact, wetlands, water quality, wildlife, recreation, roads, and heritage sites. Adams described the report as "positive." "I want the local community here in Montana and Idaho to know gathering volunteers have a good track record of taking care of the resources and cleaning up and restoring sites. Volunteers are already committing to Gathering 2000 cleanup too... cleanup starts from Day one of gathering." said Adams.

District Ranger Leon Blashock wrote: "I have concluded that there will be minimal long term negative resource impacts to the Bear Creek site. One Heritage site was damaged during the event. All other resource impacts have been adequately addressed, mitigated or rehabilitated." Blashock continues, "The post-event Rainbow Family contingent did a very good job of cleanup and site reclamation. As time passes it will be increasingly difficult to determine that a gathering of this magnitude ever occurred in the Bear Creek area. The Forest Service District Ranger and Resource Assessment team experienced a high degree of cooperation with the family on any matter where natural resource issues were of concern."

According to Rainbow volunteers, cleanup is regarded very seriously since the purpose of Gathering is to restore peace among humankind and harmony with the earth. "Concerned individuals take up the responsibility of working with resource specialists and communicate these concerns to less aware participants. Volunteer efforts have been at this since 1972 and folks have developed a lot of tools and practices for coordinating resource protection and other aspects of gathering. There's a lot of collective experience, and a lot of strong young volunteers who enjoy the work. It's beautiful. Follks can come from hard lives or "well-to-do" circumstances, and find the joy in feeding, helping, giving back... for love. Anyone can volunteer. No one is in charge, but everyone has something to offer." said a volunteer/observer who declined being named.

The resource assessments indicate no significant impacts on water quality, recreation or roads. Some soil disturbances in high use areas and main trails are expected to take one or more annual growth cycles to recover completely. Wetlands were not heavily impacted. The Heritage site reportedly damaged was an unmarked logging camp site with no visible structures (circa 1925) which the ANF had not prioritized for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places, but was under consideration for a thematic interpretive program. The report states "we (still) have many fine examples of these site types on the ANF."

According to Adams, a formal Freedom of Information Act request was not required in previous years. "This is the first time in 28 years of Gathering that I or other citizens have had to resort to FOIA to get a simple report. It seems like they should want concerned persons to have this kind of info since it lets the public know how gathering attendees did last year and where gatherers need to work on it. It's almost as if the Feds want to slow down and prevent individuals from addressing these legitimate concerns...," said Adams.

It is unclear why these reports were not made public by the Forest Service. A concerned citizen who contacted the Allegheny District was told that he had to contact the national team incident commander, Bill Fox, in Missoula. A citizen contacting Bill Fox was told that the documents would only be released pursuant to FOIA. In previous years, such reports and "clean-up sign-off letters" were available upon request from the District Ranger responsible for the site resources. The resource report is still prepared on the district level, but its release appears to be restricted at the behest of the National Law Enforcement Team. It seems contrary to purpose that an Incident Team charged with the job of protecting the public resources at the peace gathering, would find it desirable to withhold resource information from the public, especially from concerned individuals who are in a position to further this goal considerably. The national team assigned to "manage the gathering incident" is noticeably lacking in ecology, resource and health professionals, instead consisting almost entirely of Federal Law Enforcement agents, investigators and "information officers" (-how Orwellian is that?...).

Rather than promoting good stewardship through cooperative efforts and recognizing a legitimate expressive, spiritual and cultural event, the national incident team has profiled the gathering public as a 'criminal element' and turned citizens into suspects - only because they elect to gather in peace on national forests. .or is there more to the record?

Wouldn't it be better to engage the volunteers collaboratively as friends in peacekeeping and resource protection? Most resource professionals who have worked with the volunteers report a memorable and successful cooperative experience.

A collection of clean-up letters and reports from previous gatherings is available online at . The FS "Final Action Report," as released through FOIA, is available at [1999 National Rainbow Family Gathering: Final Action Report; Allegheny National Forest, Marienville Ranger District; USFS]. 3. Scouts Consider Sensitive Wildlife, Cultures Sites are scouted by individuals who show up and help check out potential sites... General needs like water and parking as well as ecological and cultural concerns need to be considered. A large number of people will impact the site's wildlife, soils and water. Sites may have endangered species habitat, delicate wetlands or other ecological concerns. In Montana and Idaho bull trout streams and grizzly habitat are important considerations. Wolves, bald eagle, lynx and other species may also be present.

Sites must have suitable water sources; for drinking water and fire protection. Other water users also need to be considered. Scouts look for good potential parking areas and suitable roads. Usually, final site selection does not happen until early June or so when "spring council" is called to hear the scouts and reach consensus on the best possible site.

It is also important to identify sacred sites of other people or Tribes and not heavily impact these. Out of respect and acting as good neighbors scouts will be on the lookout for these areas.

Once a site is chosen, "seed camp" volunteers arrive to begin preparing for the big gathering. Generally, this includes mapping out the area to locate parking, trails, kitchens, latrines, event meadows, etc, in a good way that works with landscape features to minimize impacts. Volunteers often work with local ecologists and resource specialists at this stage, encouraging them to visit the site and walk the land with them to ensure agreement on these important issues. Folks attending last fall's Thanksgiving circle, expressed a wish for local folks, including environmentalists and ecologists, to come on out and check it out and feel welcome to help with the guidance of these tasks (and also to come and enjoy!).

In past years, gathering volunteers have also worked cooperatively to resolve potential conflicts with commercial users. In Oregon '97 gatherers co-existed peaceably with a small timber operation and a cattle drive, neither of which experienced any set-backs due to the gathering in progress. At times, gathering attendees have volunteered to help local land-owners or lease holders by repairing fences, helping move stock, rerouting vehicle access, etc., to encourage a relationship of mutual respect and minimize the impacts on local people and their livelihoods.

All gathering functions are volunteer-based and open to the cooperative participation of experienced gatherers, newcomers and "locals" alike! The event is free and open to all who seek to practice Peace. The Invitation also urges people to "Live lightly with the Land and People" and "Ignore all rumors of cancellation."

4. Legal Peace Solutions: Notification v. Permit

Montana - Since last summer, several courts around the country have ruled on permit and enforcement issues concerning the Gatherings. Rulings were issued concerning Missouri '96, Oregon '97, and Pennsylvania '99 Gatherings of the Tribes. While each of these cases are independent and separate from the others, all of these rulings have a bearing on the 28-year-old relationship between Gathering attendees and often hostile Federal Agents and inter-agency "Incident Command Teams" assigned to police the Gatherings.

In a recent article, Bill Fox stated "All of the courts are saying that the permit is constitutional. If they don't get the permit they may be perceived as thumbing their noses at the law" (Montana Kaimin, University of Montana, 4/11/00).

Individual attendees have struggled legally for many years for the right to pray, petition and assemble on the "common ground." Barry Adams of Montana, a defendant and plaintiff in court over this issue, says, "No one should need a 'license to pray' on public lands."

In hope of resolving this issue, Adams has recently written to the Chief of the Forest Service proposing a "Peace Resolution" -- notification and cooperative resource planning. This would allow the gathering to satisfy "agency process" needed to assure protection of resources and planning concerns, while avoiding possible confrontation.

According to Adams, "There is an 'alternative manner' for relating with peaceable assemblies of otherwise 'unassociated' individuals; particularly for individuals with moral, religious, political, or ethical objections to signing for something that they have no authority over ...or letting anyone falsely claim such authority. The alternative is respectful notification and operating plan guidelines. This mechanism has been in place as de facto process for years, but the Forest Service says its not enough unless someone signs for permission."

"There needs to be a 'culturally sensitive' Constitutional alternative for use of national forest or other public lands; a due process that provides cultural inclusion rather than cultural discrimination. Gathering on the 4th of July is my faith-form, like Christmas or Kwanzaa or Chanukah. Each year I make a pilgrimage to 'New Jahrusalem'."

Instead of forcing individuals who are culturally distinct to form into an organization so they can apply for a permit, the regulation at 36 CFR 251 says the District Ranger or Forest Supervisor can propose an "alternative manner." Notification (application) /operating plan enables the agency to do its job, while preserving public access and use of public lands, even if the user is a culturally distinct minority whose objections stem from religious, political, and/or ethical purposes.

"My position is there should be minimal governmental intrusion, with strict judicial scrutiny on narrow grounds of any governmental intrusion on peaceable assemblies held on public lands for purposes of expression and spiritual practice. I have posted my position publicly on the Internet to newsgroup, one of many circles of the thousands of people around the world familiar with 'Rainbow-style' Gatherings." said Adams.

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