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Earlier last month I witnessed someone fell a tree in the Eagles Nest Wilderness while I was on a backpack trip. Its quite obvious that you're not supposed to cut down trees in a national forest, in this particular wilderness fires are also prohibited. I hadn't any idea how to deal with this group of individuals. I feel that yelling at them would have done no good, as its obvious that what they were doing was wrong and they knew it.

Should I have reported these individuals? I had no way to identify them, and its hard to track who was even in the area during that time frame.

Should I have said something? Threatened to report them? Or is it best to just let it happen, because it seems there's not much that can be done.

It really upsets me to see someone do something so detrimental to a protected area. Its such an obvious trace of human presence. I've heard this has become a big problem in the Maroon-Bells Snowmass Wilderness, which isn't far from where I was hiking.

WedaPashi
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tsturzl
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    For what it's worth, logging is allowed (with a permit) in many national forests. Usually in a wilderness area there's no logging allowed. You may want to inquire with the rangers to see if it's legal or not. – Eric Aug 11 '15 at 06:11
  • There is a sign before you get to the lake specifying no fires, which they clearly had. I feel like if they had broken the rules, they weren't about to abide by them and getting a permit for wood collection. This is in a mountainous area, and I'm fairly certain removing wood is restricted in this area. – tsturzl Aug 11 '15 at 06:19
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    people who fall down trees have axes. I would not threaten someone that has an axe in their hand. – njzk2 Aug 14 '15 at 16:33
  • @njzk2 Had certainly crossed my mind. I hadn't approached them for this reason, and the fact that I was outnumbered and alone. – tsturzl Aug 14 '15 at 20:24
  • Let them alone. The forest is a lonely place and the law is far away. – bobbym Sep 06 '16 at 16:58
  • Maybe suggest collecting dead wood from the ground? You probably can't talk them out of making a fire but at least cutting a tree if there's plenty of even drier wood lying around. – Langley May 08 '17 at 06:43
  • While I understand your concern in your last paragraph, it being "detrimental" is really a matter of opinion, one which those people may not have shared. My personal opinion is that "leave no trace" should be applied only to the rare location that truly could not handle even minimal resource use from the amount of people that visit it, which in my opinion is rare. The animals certainly are not practicing leave no trace. I'm more of a "be one with nature, use it but respectfully" mindset. I would probably follow the rules anyway though; the point of your Q is good. Be careful near such people. – Loduwijk Nov 27 '17 at 20:44
  • @Aaron You assume that it isn't. I think you're also assuming that protected areas aren't protected for a reason. If everyone who came there fell a tree it would be barren in a year. To fall a tree to have a massive fire in an area prone to wildfires seems anything but respectful, and build camp furniture out of which you'll just leave there. I'm sorry, but I don't think you should ever fall a tree in a wilderness. Maybe where you are those areas don't get many visitors. Where I am if 20% of the people visiting an area fell one single tree, it would absolutely devastate the environment. – tsturzl Nov 30 '17 at 16:40
  • Just the sheer number of visitors alone has environmental impacts, especially in the area which I watch this happen. There were probably at least 10 others camping around here. Some of them were having small fires away from trees with dead fallen wood, even though you aren't supposed to, that's not something that really concerns me. I'm not a stickler for the rules by any means, but there are some things so blatantly harmful and negligent that they are destroying the natural areas in the state that I live. – tsturzl Nov 30 '17 at 16:44
  • In 2016 438 pounds of trash were hauled out of a wilderness area near me, 273 incidents of unburied human waste, and 323 illegal campfires and well as signs of numerous violations of dispersed camping rules. It's absolutely disgusting. This is why I say if you don't practice LNT as specified directly by the ranges is the rules of the wilderness, then DO NOT go into those areas, stay at home. – tsturzl Nov 30 '17 at 16:46
  • @tsturzl That is understandable. Please note that I did specify "could not handle the resource use" as an exception. If the area you speak of truly is such an area, then it qualifies for that exception to my view. Also (and this is not a disagreement with you), I would doubt that 20% of people would remove a tree even if it were within the rules - 20% of groups maybe. I agree that taking multiple trees for a huge fire and seating is negligent; one tree should be able to last for many fires, possibly enough for everyone in the area for their entire trip if used efficiently. – Loduwijk Nov 30 '17 at 19:49
  • @Aaron There's plenty of dead wood in places where there are trees, I don't understand the need to cut one down in most environments. – tsturzl Nov 30 '17 at 22:41
  • @tsturzl Yes, of course, and I agree with that too. I don't think it's terrible to cut down trees, but I rarely ever do so since it's not necessary; you can go a long way using fallen wood, and still longer breaking dead branches off of trees. I just meant that, if you do cut down a tree, one tree goes a long way if used properly. One small tree should be good for multiple fires, and one large tree should be sufficient for a great many fires. – Loduwijk Nov 30 '17 at 22:50

1 Answers1

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It boils down to the point what one could really do in such a situation. When I trek in India, I do come across such situations that beg some action from me and other sensitive people around. I define scope of 'what can I do' as following:

  1. Don't be outnumbered!:
    If we are outnumbered, I will rather opt to report it to the authority, without threatening the guys doing it. I would also consider taking pictures of the deed and the doer, preferably without they noticing me doing so.
  2. If they are being outnumbered by us, and they are unarmed: Yes, you can save a tree. Approach them with a sense of unity, warn them for what they are up to and what you can do about it. A bit of controlled but false aggression helps at times like this, at least it worked for me. A fictitious or unreal friend of yours working in the concerned authoritative organization just might do the trick.

For immediate results, the second options works best. But then again, you avoided an incident, that doesn't really alarm the authorities about possibility of happening it again.

For long term results, whether you chose to act and somehow managed to stop them, or just saw the incidence, whatever the case, report it at the concerned legal authority. With an increased number of such alarms, authorities will be a bit more keener about controlling such deeds.

WedaPashi
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    In this particular instance I was alone. I often hike alone, as its how I get away and reset. The group was a young boisterous group(though I'm young as well, I'm typically respectful). I like the recommendation of taking a picture of them and reporting them, as I usually have some kind of camera on me(at least my phone). Had I been with a group of people I feel direct confrontation would have been the best, as it may have prevented any further unethical actions. – tsturzl Aug 11 '15 at 19:17