Call now! Our lines are open and a lonely bear is waiting to talk to you.
Posted on 03/22/2010 10:04:52 PM PDT by MamaDearest
Last month, Herman Jacob took his daughter and her friend camping in the Francis Marion National Forest. While poking around for some firewood, Jacob noticed a wire. He pulled on it and followed it to a video camera and antenna.
The camera didn't have any markings identifying its owner, so Jacob took it home and called law enforcement agencies to find out if it was theirs, all the while wondering why someone would station a video camera in an isolated clearing in the woods.
He eventually received a call from Mark Heitzman of the U.S. Forest Service.
In a stiff voice, Heitzman ordered Jacob to turn it back over to his agency, explaining that it UShad been set up to monitor "illicit activities." Jacob returned the camera but felt uneasy.
Why, he wondered, would the Forest Service have secret cameras in a relatively remote camping area? What do they do with photos of bystanders?
How many hidden cameras are they using, and for what purposes? Is this surveillance in the forest an effective law enforcement tool? And what are our expectations of privacy when we camp on public land?
Officials with the Forest Service were hardly forthcoming with answers to these and other questions about their surveillance cameras. When contacted about the incident, Heitzman said "no comment," and referred other questions to Forest Service's public affairs, who he said, "won't know anything about it."
Heather Frebe, public affairs officer with the Forest Service in Atlanta, said the camera was part of a law enforcement investigation, but she declined to provide details. Asked how cameras are used in general, how many are routinely deployed throughout the Forest and about the agency's policies, Frebe also declined to discuss specifics. She said that surveillance cameras have been used for "numerous years" to "provide for public safety and to protect the natural resources of the forest. Without elaborating, she said images of people who are not targets of an investigation are "not kept."
In addition, when asked whether surveillance cameras had led to any arrests, she did not provide an example, saying in an e-mail statement: "Our officers use a variety of techniques to apprehend individuals who break laws on the national forest."
Video surveillance is nothing new, and the courts have addressed the issue numerous times in recent decades. The Fourth Amendment guards against unreasonable searches and seizures, and over time the courts have created a body of law that defines what's reasonable, though this has become more challenging as surveillance cameras became smaller and more advanced.
In general, the courts have held that people typically have no reasonable level of privacy in public places, such as banks, streets, open fields in plain view and on public lands, such as National Parks and National Forests. In various cases, judges ruled that a video camera is effectively an extension of a law enforcement officer's eyes and ears. In other words, if an officer can eyeball a campground in person, it's OK to station a video camera in his or her place.
Jacob said he understands that law enforcement officials have a job to do but questioned whether stationing hidden cameras outweighed his and his children's privacy rights. He said the camp site they went to -- off a section of the Palmetto Trail on U.S. 52 north of Moncks Corner -- was primitive and marked only by a metal rod and a small wooden stand for brochures. He didn't recall seeing any signs saying that the area was under surveillance. After he found the camera, he plugged the model number, PV-700, into his Blackberry, and his first hit on Google was a Web site offering a "law enforcement grade" motion-activated video camera for about $500. He called law enforcement agencies in the area, looking for its owner, and later got a call from Heitzman, an agent with the National Forest Service.
Buck knife and flare gun, eh? You’re packin’ some serious heat.
Well, if you’ve got a ring tone of Rosanne Barr singing the National Anthem, you’re covered. On second thought, scratch that last comment. The sound may attract forest rangers.
ROFLOL!
Is her name Cuddles?
C'mon now, TE. That's survival, not camping. We have modern amenities like sleeping bags, matches, and gasoline nowadays. :)
What is your credit card number and I'll tell you.
I thought the magnesium block was a luxury. ;-)
Well here in NJ you can’t have a gun so I get around that with the flare gun. I used to keep my trailer at a campground year round in South Jersey where there are bears. I think I would have to download Minnie Riperton singing Lovin’ You or maybe those little kids singing the MMM mmm mmm Obama song. Even a bear would run from that.
“I am beginning to think I would rather be around the bears then the forest rangers.”
I started to buy some land about 30 miles away on a cypress lake which was owned by the Feds who had turned it into a wildlife preserve. After checking it out, I found that they were piss poor neighbors so I passed on the deal.
Oh, you were serious about the flare gun. Well, that’ll do the trick. Just don’t burn down the forest or the rangers will cite you for smoking.
I would run if you played Minnie Riperton or those Obama foot soldiers.
Bears might run but hunters will probably start shooting if you play that 0bama crap in the forest. Which of course would also make the bears run away so it might be worth the risk.
I saw bears when I camped but they rarely came by me. I am somewhat afraid of them. I am buying a farm in PA where I can keep my horses & dread the fact I will be dealing with bears. I guess I am going to have to web cam my barn or get a donkey to warn me when they are around. I’ve been told to keep all trash cans in the garage as they come for trash. I will make it very unfriendly for them if I can.
Well you have to figure out how to get around the no gun bs here. When we had a charter boat we had flare guns in case we needed the Coast Guard or another boat to help us. I saw a fisherman shoot a shark with one & I decided a flare gun would be a good weapon if needed. So I made sure the camper had a few. No sense letting them go to waste. So far I have never had to use it.
Have you considered dogs rather than a donkey? A Kuvasz perhaps?
No doubt the flare gun would do the trick, but all kidding aside, the fire would be an issue depending on our location.
I have considered air horns. The pepper spray is a little tricky, esp. if it’s windy.
our location = your location
I thought of a dog but I have 5 Shih Tzu( small & yappy). If I got a dog I was told to get a Blue Heeler since I have a 10 yr old daughter. I basically would want a barn dog & I bet Sassy would sneak the dog in the house. I even thought of peacocks but they poop all over. I will check the Kuvasz out though, thanks. Do they get along with horses?
I tried mace on a dog years ago when I was doing animal control. It didn’t stop that dog. My luck I would mace myself. The way I sing I could scare it away myself. I guess if I had the flare gun I would need to bring a fire extinguisher. I think I should stick to camping in the trailer!
The peacock would make a mess. Geese would be great, but same problem.
Our friends are ranchers. They have a Great Pyrenees (I believe it’s a Pyrenees). The dog is working dog that protects their livestock including cattle, sheep, and chickens, etc. Another friend, whose an backcountry outfitter, owns a Kuvasz. The dog’s like a gigantic baby. Great with children.
Both breeds are LARGE. As you know, despite a general temperament, some can behave contrary to their breeds natural behavior. I’m sure you’ll know how to look into information.
We’ve camped out w/out firearms, and there are bears and puma’s in our area. Chances are, they’ll leave you alone, as you know.
I do believe the air horn would be loud enough to startle and scare a bear away, provided he’s not a park bear. In that case, all you’ll have to do is throw him a few Twinkies and the bear should be good to go.
Thanks. I had thought about a Great Pyrenees or even a Newfoundland. Dobermans are my favorite dog & I used to bred them & Akita. But insurance gives you a hard time about them. I will be able to get a gun in PA so as long as I have a warning system I can always shoot a warning shot in the air. I will keep the grain locked up. I don’t know if bears really want to mess with the horses. Mine are rescues who have been through so much that I just want them to have the best rest of their lives I can give them.
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