Important facts for this article.
Pilgrim Family Fact Sheet
Good morning, all!
Here's what Rick Kenyon and others have contributed.
Please use in your sharing of this story and your efforts to help the Pilgrim
Family in McCarthy, Alaska, regain use of their road without interference or
fear of arrest by National Park Service armed rangers.
Thank you all for your help in this, and please, listen to today's Derry
Brownfield Show:
http://www.DerryBrownfield.com. Derry's show reaches 26
states by radio, and worldwide by Internet.
Julie Kay Smithson, just another that believes in property rights, also
known as freedom
Pilgrim Family Fact Sheet - Dateline: McCarthy, Alaska
National Park Service officials at the Wrangell St. Elias National Park in Alaska have targeted a family of 17 that owns 400 acres in the middle of the park. Such private landowners within federal boundaries are called 'inholders.' The family has been harassed for the past year by park rangers.
The family's legal name is Hale, and the property is registered in that name. However they prefer to be called the Pilgrims.
These folks are pacifists, very akin to the Mennonite faith. They are a law-abiding, God-fearing family of 17 that dresses and talks differently -- outspoken in their faith in God and opposition to evil -- but are loving, caring people who have been a real blessing to their neighbors.
In April 2003, the NPS posted notices that the family could not use the McCarthy-Green Butte trail, a well-documented RS2477 route that is listed with DNR as RS135. The McCarthy-Green Butte route RS135 follows the creek, crossing some 17 times. Until about 1970 the bridges were maintained, but have all washed out now. It is a rugged, somewhat dangerous route. The closure was clearly illegal. The NPS has no authority over this road, which is the only road for the Pilgrims to access their home and the town of McCarthy. NPS says that the Pilgrims created a new road through the park. This is false. NPS says that the Pilgrims upgraded an existing road without obtaining a permit. This is also false. All the family has done is to use an existing road and do minimal maintenance work on that road, which is clearly within the provisions of RS2477.
The NPS is 'pulling out all of the stops' in their effort to destroy the Pilgrim family. I talked with NPS Assistant Superintendent Hunter Sharp yesterday and he told me the following:
1. On or about June 14, a 3-person BLM survey crew will arrive at the Marvelous Millsite property and the Spokane Placer for the purpose of establishing the boundaries. (That's fine, we want the NPS to know where their property is. The family has agreed to this, but has asked that the impact to their children and livestock be minimized by using local air taxi aircraft rather than helicopters.)
2. The surveyors will be accompanied by a NPS 'Special Events Team' of 6-8 armed Rangers, plus local Rangers. This is ridiculous. NPS has painted the family as being dangerous, which escalates NPS actions to the bizarre.
3. At the same time, a team of "experts" will start up the McCarthy Creek Trail (McCarthy-Green Butte RS135) for the purpose of documenting any "damage" that may have been done to the park lands. (NPS does not recognize this as a legal state right-of-way, despite mountains of evidence that it is.) This team will consist of a Biologist, a Fisheries person, 2 Botanists, an Archeologist and a Geologist. They will be accompanied by 3 more armed Rangers.
4. Helicopters will be used to transport this army of NPS shooters and surveyors up the creek, although the Pilgrims have specifically offered use of their airstrip by light plane to avoid the noise and confusion of helicopter landings and overflights near the livestock. NPS specifically announced that "We will take all reasonable precautions to minimize any disruption" during the survey.
The trail in question has been listed in state statute as a legal, valid state right-of-way.
NPS apparently plans to charge the family with any "damage" they find along this route, although others have maintained the road in recent years and have not been cited or even warned by NPS.
This is clearly a case where a family has been targeted for punitive action. It apparently is also designed to frighten the other residents into submission. The slander/smear campaign by the park people has been disgusting.
At the same time, the NPS informational office in Chitina, Alaska, and the Kiosk at the end of the McCarthy Road, have been closed due to "budget cuts." Apparently the park management is funneling all of its resources into this campaign to destroy a family and acquire control of their property. (400 acres in the middle of the park.)
For updates on this unfolding situation:
Maps:
A map of Alaska showing the general location of McCarthy:
Detailed topographical map of the local area:
Another website with several maps of the area:
Contact:
Rick Kenyon
Wrangell St. Elias News (WSEN)
McCarthy, Alaska
Phone: 907-554-4454 (4 hours behind EST; 1 hour behind California time)
Fax: 907-554-4494
Website:
http://mccarthy-kennicott.com Email:
WSEN@starband.net For More Information Contact:
American Land Rights Association
Tel: 360-687-3087
FAX: 360-687-2973
Send mail to
alra@pacifier.com with questions or comments about this web site.
All pages on this website are ©1999-2001, American Land Rights Association. Permission is granted to use any and all information herein, as long as credit is given to ALRA.
I hadn't known about these extreme cases, but I do have a generally sour feeling toward the NPS, based on the way they act in the Everglades National Park. The rangers there stop you and check you out fairly often. Though they can be nice, I more often get the impression that they think of the public the same way the Sheriff of Nottingham thought of peasants trespassing or poaching in the King's Forest.
Most folks around here seem to think Park rangers are the least polite of all local law enforcement types, even the Marine Patrol guys admit that the rangers have a "reputation."
I used to attribute this to rangers having inadequate law enforcement training, but now wonder if it isn't more likely that the entire NPS hasn't just become part of the liberal, politically correct establishment that so threatens America today.
In the past I had been an admirer of the NPS, but these days am thinking perhaps to change my views.
Some more info! Provided by Julie Smithson of PropertyRightsResearch.org
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National Park Lines 2003-12
(Note: How the driving forces behind inholder harassment and recreational
access -- and, in time, ALL access by the public -- work their agendas. Please,
read clear through. Share with others. Read with your intellect instead of your
emotions. The inference regarding 'Friends of the National Parks' awards to
legislators is that those not on the list are NOT 'Friends.' Please note that
almost without exception, the 'Friends' winners are proponents of the United
Nations. What a 'coincidence!' The agenda is Control. Pitting one group against
another is a tried and true means of accomplishing Control.)
June 3, 2003
From:
parklines@npca.org (Parklines)
Don't Pave Our Parks
The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA)
Roads to Ruin to Overrun Colorado
Colorado Governor Bill Owens is jumping on the administration's
open-door policy for states to claim ownership of rights-of-way on
public lands so that the state can build roads through some of the most
spectacular national parks in Colorado, as well as national wildlife
refuges, and designated wilderness.
Owens' administration recently sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior
Gale Norton claiming rights-of-way in all federally held lands in Colorado,
including national parks such as Dinosaur National Monument, Great Sand Dunes
National Monument and Preserve, and Rocky Mountain National Park.
Take Action
http://www.npca.org/take_action/action_alerts/ActionAlert.asp?strAction=link&l ngAlertID=321
Whether you live in Colorado or visit the state's national parks, your voice
is crucial.
Let Governor Owens know how his decision to open our precious national parks
to extensive road-building threatens not only the magnificent parks of
Colorado, but also the experiences of the millions of people who visit those parks
every year.
Send a letter to the governor urging him to rethink his position and
protect the parks, their resources, and the tourism they bring to the
state.
Visit us online at
http://www.npca.org For more 'information' on Alaska's parks:
Recognizing the challenges ahead, NPCA's vision is to protect Alaska's
remarkable parks from undesirable development and damaging uses; to see that the
parks remain unspoiled, naturally functioning ecosystems; and to ensure that
access to and use of the parks is compatible with the preservation of park
purposes, resources, and values. Specifically, NPCA recommends that the National Park
Service:
adopt regulations that define "traditional activities" in parks and other
conservation areas as utilitarian activities necessary for sustaining a
traditional rural way of life, not including recreational activities or the use of
motorized vehicles as an activity in and of itself;
establish a set of specific principles and guidelines regarding reasonable
regulation of motorized and non-motorized transportation to protect the full
range of natural and other values of the parks;
define private inholders' right of access to their lands without requiring a
host of new roads or railroads through the parks;
adopt permanent regulations to decide highway right-of-way claims, under
federal law, that recognize valid, existing roads but preclude development of
trails and footpaths into thousands of miles of new roads through parks and
wilderness;
adopt regulations that permanently close the pre-ANILCA, wilderness portion
of Denali to snowmachine use;
adopt a special Alaska provision in pending national legislation on
commercial air tours over national parks that allows reasonable regulation while
accommodating both Alaska’s unique access requirements and the need for natural
quiet and solitude in Alaska parks and wilderness; and
ban use of personal water craft in all the Alaska park units as a motorized
form of recreation incompatible with preservation of wilderness values and
related recreation opportunities.
Finally, ANILCA required the National Park Service to study additional
potential wilderness areas in Alaskan national parks and offer recommendations to
Congress on areas suitable for federal wilderness designation. The Park Service
conducted these studies and recommended designation for 19 million acres in
the 1980s, but action was stalled.
The Department of the Interior should formalize these recommendations and
have them forwarded to Congress by the president for action this year.
http://www.npca.org/wild_alaska/flash.html Are YOUR Members of Congress Friends of the National Parks?
The National Parks Conservation Association recognized 49 senators and 166
representatives in the 107th Congress (2000-2002) with a Friend of the National
Parks award.
The award recognizes those members of Congress who actively work to preserve
and protect the integrity of our national park system by casting pro-park
votes on the floor of the House and Senate.
To find out if your congressional leaders are Friends of the Parks, please
provide the following information. Once you learn how they voted, you will be
able to send a letter to thank them for protecting the parks or to encourage
them to do so. See the list of winners.
http://www.npca.org/take_action/votes/activistinformation.asp Alabama
Rep. Hilliard (D-7th) 83%
Arizona
Rep. Pastor (D-2nd) 83%
Arkansas
Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D) 100%
Rep. Vic Snyder (D-2nd) 100%
California
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) 100%
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D) 100%
Rep. Thompson (D-1st) 83%
Rep. Matsui (D-5th) 83%
Rep. Woolsey (D-6th) 67%
Rep. Miller (D 7th) 100%
Rep. Pelosi (D-8th) 83%
Rep. Lee (D-9th) 100%
Rep. Tauscher (D-10th) 83%
Rep. Lantos (D-12th) 67%
Rep. Stark (D-13th) 83%
Rep. Eshoo (D-14th) 83%
Rep. Honda (D-15th) 83%
Rep. Lofgren (D-16th) 83%
Rep. Farr (D-17th) 83%
Rep. Condit (D-18th) 83%
Rep. Dooley (D-20th) 67%
Rep. Capps (D-22nd) 83%
Rep. Sherman (D-24th) 83%
Rep. Berman (D-26th) 67%
Rep. Schiff (D-27th) 83%
Rep. Waxman (D-29th) 100%
Rep. Solis (D-31st) 67%
Rep. Watson (D-32nd) 83%
Rep. Roybal-Allard (D-33rd) 67%
Rep. Napolitano (D-34th) 67%
Rep. Waters (D-35th) 67%
Rep. Harman (D-36th) 100%
Rep. Millender-McDonald (D-37th) 83%
Rep. Horn (R-38th) 67%
Rep. Baca (D-42nd) 67%
Rep. Sanchez (D-46th) 83%
Rep. Davis (D-49th) 83%
Rep. Filner (D-50th) 83%
Colorado
Rep. DeGette (D-1st) 67%
Rep. Mark Udall (D-2nd) 83%
Connecticut
Sen. Christopher Dodd (D) 100%
Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D) 100%
Rep. John Larson (D-1st) 67%
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-3rd) 83%
Rep. Christopher Shays (R-4th) 67%
Rep. James Maloney (D-5th) 83%
Rep. Nancy Johnson (R-6th) 67%
Rep. Simmons (R-2nd) 67%
Delaware
Sen. Joseph Biden (D) 100%
Sen. Carper (D) 100%
Florida
Sen. Bob Graham (D) 100%
Sen. Nelson (D) 100%
Rep. Boyd (D-2nd) 67%
Rep. Corrine Brown (D-3rd) 83%
Rep. Karen Thurman (D-5th) 67%
Rep. Jim Davis (D-11th) 83%
Rep. Mark Foley (R-16th) 87%
Rep. Meek (D-17th) 83%
Rep. Robert Wexler (D-19th) 83%
Rep. Peter Deutsch (D-20th) 83%
Rep. Diaz-Balart (R-21st) 33%
Rep. Hastings (D-23rd) 83%
Georgia
Sen. Max Cleland (D) 67%
Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-2nd) 67%
Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-4th) 83%
Rep. John Lewis (D-5th) 67%
Hawaii
Sen. Inouye (D) 67%
Sen. Akaka (D) 67%
Rep. Abercrombie (D-1st) 67%
Illinois
Sen. Richard Durbin (D) 100%
Sen. Fitzgerald (R) 67%
Rep. Rush (D-1st) 67%
Rep. Jesse Jackson (D-2nd) 83%
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-4th) 67%
Rep. Danny Davis (D-7th) 83%
Rep. Janice Schakowsky (D-9th) 83%
Rep. Jerry Costello (D-12th) 67%
Rep. Johnson (R-15th) 67%
Rep. Lane Evans (D-17th) 83%
Rep. David Phelps (D-19th) 67%
Indiana
Sen. Evan Bayh (D) 100%
Rep. Visclosky (D-1st) 83%
Rep. Roemer (D-3rd) 83%
Rep. Hill (D-9th) 83%
Rep. Carson (D-10th) 83%
Iowa
Sen. Tom Harkin (D) 100%
Rep. James Leach (R-1st) 67%
Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-3rd) 67%
Kansas
Rep. Dennis Moore (D-3rd) 83%
Louisiana
Rep. Jefferson (D-2nd) 83%
Maine
Sen. Snowe (R) 67%
Sen. Collins (R) 67%
Rep. Thomas Allen (D-1st) 83%
Rep. John Baldacci (D-2nd) 83%
Maryland
Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D) 100%
Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D) 100%
Rep. Benjamin Cardin (D-3rd) 83%
Rep. Wynn (D-4th) 83%
Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-5th) 83%
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-7th) 83%
Rep. Constance Morella (R-8th) 83%
Massachusetts
Sen. Edward Kennedy (D) 100%
Sen. John Kerry (D) 100%
Rep. John Olver (D-1st) 83%
Rep. Richard Neal (D-2nd) 67%
Rep. McGovern D-3rd) 83%
Rep. Frank (D-4th) 83%
Rep. Marty Meehan (D-5th) 83%
Rep. John Tierney (D-6th) 83%
Rep. Edward Markey (D-7th) 83%
Rep. Michael Capuano (D-8th) 67%
Rep. Delahunt (D-10th) 83%
Michigan
Sen. Carl Levin (D) 100%
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D) 100%
Rep. Stupak (D-1st) 83%
Rep. Barcia (D-5th) 83%
Rep. Dale Kildee (D-9th) 83%
Rep. Sander Levin (D-12th) 83%
Rep. Lynn Rivers (D-13th) 83%
Rep. Conyers (D-14th) 67%
Rep. John Dingell (D-16th) 83%
Minnesota
Sen. Dayton (D) 100%
Rep. Jim Ramstad (R-3rd) 83%
Rep. McCollum (D-4th) 83%
Rep. Sabo (D-5th) 83%
Rep. Bill Luther (D-6th) 67%
Rep. James Oberstar (D-8th) 83%
Mississippi
Rep. Thompson (D-2nd) 83%
Missouri
Sen. Carnahan (D) 100%
Rep. Clay D-1st) 100%
Rep. Gephardt (D-3rd) 83%
Rep. McCarthy (D-5th) 83%
Montana
Sen. Max Baucus (D) 100%
Nebraska
Sen. Nelson (D) 67%
Nevada
Sen. Harry Reid (D) 100%
Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-1st) 83%
New Jersey
Sen. Robert Torricelli (D) 100%
Sen. Corzine (D) 100%
Rep. Robert Andrews (D-1st) 83%
Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-2nd) 67%
Rep. Jim Saxton (R-3rd) 67%
Rep. Smith (R-4th) 67%
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-6th) 83%
Rep. Ferguson (R-7th) 67%
Rep. William Pascrell (D-8th) 67%
Rep. Steven Rothman (D-9th) 83%
Rep. Donald Payne (D-10th) 83%
Rep. Rush Holt (D-12th) 83%
Rep. Menendez (D-13th) 83%
New Mexico
Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D) 100%
Rep. Tom Udall (D-3rd) 83%
New York
Sen. Charles Schumer (D) 100%
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D) 100%
Rep. Steve Israel (D-2nd) 67%
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-4th) 83%
Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-5th) 83%
Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-6th) 83%
Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-7th) 83%
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-8th) 67%
Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-9th) 83%
Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-10th) 83%
Rep. Major Owens (D-11th) 83%
Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-12th) 83%
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-14th) 83%
Rep. Charles Rangel (D-15th) 83%
Rep. Jose Serrano (D-16th) 67%
Rep. Eliot Engel (D-17th) 83%
Rep. Nita Lowey (D-18th) 83%
Rep. Sue Kelly (R-19th) 67%
Rep. Michael McNulty (D-21st) 83%
Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-23rd) 67%
Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-26th) 83%
North Carolina
Sen. John Edwards (D) 100%
Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-2nd) 83%
Rep. David Price (D-4th) 83%
Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-7th) 83%
Rep. Melvin Watt (D-12th) 67%
North Dakota
Sen. Kent Conrad (D) 100%
Sen. Byron Dorgan (D) 100%
Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-At Large) 67%
Ohio
Sen. Mike DeWine (R) 67%
Rep. Ted Strickland (D-6th) 83%
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-10th) 83%
Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-11th) 67%
Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-13th) 83%
Oregon
Sen. Ron Wyden (D) 100%
Rep. David Wu (D-1st) 67%
Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-4th) 67%
Rep. Darlene Hooley (D-5th) 67%
Pennsylvania
Rep. Robert Brady (D-1st) 83%
Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-2nd) 83%
Rep. Tim Holden (D-6th) 67%
Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-11th) 67%
Rep. Joe Hoeffel (D-13th) 83%
Rhode Island
Sen. Jack Reed (D) 100%
Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R) 67%
Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-1st) 83%
Rep. James Langevin (D-2nd) 83%
South Carolina
Sen. Ernest Hollings (D) 100%
Rep. John Spratt (D-5th) 83%
Rep. James Clyburn (D-6th) 83%
South Dakota
Sen. Thomas Daschle (D) 100%
Sen. Tim Johnson (D) 100%
Tennessee
Rep. Bart Gordon (D-6th) 83%
Rep. Harold Ford (D-9th) 67%
Texas
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-10th) 83%
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-18th) 67%
Rep. Charles Gonzalez (D-20th) 67%
Rep. Martin Frost (D-24th) 67%
Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-30th) 67%
Utah
Rep. Jim Matheson (D-2nd) 67%
Vermont
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D) 100%
Sen. James Jeffords (I) 67%
Rep. Bernard Sanders (I-At Large) 83%
Virginia
Rep. Robert Scott (D-3rd) 67%
Rep. James Moran (D-8th) 83%
Rep. Rick Boucher (D-9th) 83%
Washington
Sen. Patty Murray (D) 100%
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D) 100%
Rep. Jay Inslee (D-1st) 67%
Rep. Rick Larsen (D-2nd) 83%
Rep. Brian Baird (D-3rd) 83%
Rep. Norman Dicks (D-6th) 67%
Rep. Jim McDermott (D-7th) 83%
Rep. Adam Smith (D-9th) 83%
West Virginia
Sen. Robert Byrd (D) 100%
Sen. John Rockefeller (D) 100%
Rep. Nick Rahall (D-3rd) 83%
Wisconsin
Sen. Herbert Kohl (D) 100%
Sen. Russell Feingold (D) 100%
Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-2nd) 83%
Rep. Ron Kind (D-3rd) 67%
Rep. Jerry Kleczka (D-4th) 83%
Rep. David Obey (D-7th) 83%
http://www.npca.org/take_action/votes/winners.asp