Excellent advice Crystal, to be the change we desire, not the Cassandra-cry of doom and gloom! Honey instead of vinegar; charm instead of insult. Cordially yours, Tacy Fletcher (uses pseudonym "Cayt Fletch" on facebook) also [email protected]
________________________________ From: Crystal Y. Tipton <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 12:17 AM Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Retaliation from State Park Officials You could pull together a band of volunteers and propose specific projects to park staff that would address some of the degradation you are concerned about. Start with low-hanging fruit that is easy to address by volunteers and shows quick results. Document before as well as your post-project success, and post it for positive publicity. Thank the park publicly for supporting your volunteer project. Then do it again, with progressively higher-hanging fruit. Where possible, work with current volunteer infrastructure to address your projects. Be positive and thankful, even when it may be frustrating to work with bureaucracy. Allow State Park personnel to take credit as much as possible -- even where it may not really be due. Make them look good and get the work done in the process. If your state budget is anything like that of my state, it will be very difficult to find new resources to pay personnel to do new projects -- but as volunteers you can often build momentum and leverage private or other grant funds to do some of the bigger projects once you've gained credibility. You may also want to consider incorporating your group as a nonprofit. Similar organizations you might look at who have done this are Poudre Wilderness Volunteers (www.poudrewildernessvolunteers.org) and Overland Mountain Bike Club (www.overlandmtb.org) as well as CATS ( http://redrockcanyonopenspace.org/about/). Good Luck! *Crystal Y. Tipton* M.S. Student: Rangeland Ecology Colorado State University Office: WCNR 202 phone: 217.390.7340 email: [email protected] On Tue, Mar 18, 2014 at 11:11 AM, John A. <[email protected]> wrote: > I'm in a situation where I may be facing personal retaliation from > state park employees, and I'd appreciate some advice from anyone who's > dealt with this situation before. > > The essence is that I'm a frequent visitor to a superb state park > which I've come to deeply love. Unfortunately law enforcement is > nonexistent; the park is weakly staffed and they focus their attention on > the campground and nearby parking lots, ignoring the many miles of trails > which extend across most of the park property. The employees are poorly > trained and profoundly ignorant of the park environment, and they have no > interest in addressing vandalism and other abuses, much less ecological > issues. > > I've expressed my concerns to the park management, in person and in > writing, and I've also written several letters to the editor over the past > few years. Nothing has changed--in fact, the neglect and abandonment have > become worse than ever--and at this point I have a strong sense that the > park management is gunning for me. I'm not sure what form the retaliation > will take, but recent exchanges have not been positive, and some of their > comments could be taken as veiled threats. > > I've kept a detailed record of the park's slow degradation, as well as > interactions with park staff, but I sincerely doubt that simply documenting > facts will make much difference here. The employees managing the park are > favored in the state bureaucracy, and I'll find no help at higher levels. > > So I'd like to ask if anyone has had experience dealing with similar > circumstances, and what other avenues I might pursue. Please contact me > off-list with any advice or similar experiences, and I'll offer my thanks > in advance. > > > - J. A. >
