Faster horses said:
kolanuraven said:
Well, I'm NOT able to read minds like you.
Forest Service rangers ARE law enforcement.
County sheriff....my guess is that since public lands are a FEDERAL issue...not a county issue is why the Forest Service is in the mix with the BLM.
Come on....read my mind right now!!! I dare ya...come on...I double dog dare ya!!!! :wink:
No, Forest Service Rangers are not law enforcement. Neither are BLM Personnel.
In the Forest Service there are Rangers and there are Officers.
Officers are the actual law enforcement for the forest. They are basically the forest cops.
Rangers are the people who take groups on hikes and do all of the traditional park ranger duties.
USFS Ranger positions are usually college students are usually seasonal and have no law enforcement duties.
In the West, we understand these things. :wink:
You are wrong FH- both some forest rangers and BLM have been given law enforcement powers since at least back in the early 80's- maybe before... Most came about because of the "War on Drugs"...The first BLM Ranger I ever knew, I worked with on drug cases when he was an Agent for the Montana Attorney Generals office (remember the guys I got to handle your case :???: )- and had switched over to the Feds for better pay and beni's.... Before that he had been a Sheriff's Deputy... Born and raised Montanan.... Our current BLM Ranger was raised in western Montana- married to a local rancher, and they are raising a local family... BLM also has Special Agents which have investigatory powers on BLM land just like the FBI....
Back prior to the mid 1970's- the forest service and BLM used to contract with Sheriff's Departments to do the Law Enforcement on federal lands... But sometime during that period they created law enforcement positions for Park Service, Forest Service and BLM... And the law enforcement sections pack firearms just like all other law enforcement.....
My take on this is this is not much different than Leachman, trespassing on federal/tribal grazing rights he no longer had for years- and in doing so infringing on those folks that had the rights and were obeying the law... EXCEPT this guy has been given 20 years to work out a deal (during which he infringed on neighbors and thought he was better than all others who paid their fees and worked with the government) - and now is threatening all authority and putting himself to be above all law.... Not much law above a Federal Court Judge (just ask them :wink: )... The reason he gets no sympathy from me....
This also reminds me of the many folks that got tied up in the Freeman situation.... That during hard times got convinced by a nutcase Canadian attorney and some right wing extremists tied to the Aryan Nation and some of the rightwing militia groups that they didn't have to pay taxes- or pay back their FHA loans and that by sending in "liens" against political office holders that would suffice as payment... Well it didn't and finally after years of being told that when their land was foreclosed on for not paying back the loans or the taxes they decided they no longer had to follow U.S. law and declared themselves to be members of "Justus Township"... We had a few rightwingnuts (handful) storming the office screaming "gold and silver" was the only currency of the land every time we sold one of these places....A time or too I was told that Yahweh damned me - and every other name to go with it-- but most these folks had no backing of the locals because everyone else had to live by the law of the land- pay their taxes and repay their loans-- why shouldn't they :???:
And on a couple of the foreclosures by FHA where the Freemen group claimed blood would flow- I was able to go up, sit down with the rancher being foreclosed on and convince him that he was being moved off- either one way or another....And if he voluntarily did it- it would be a lot cheaper to him in the long run (along with his ability to keep his personal items).... Luckily they trusted me and went along with it-- and decided to have their Waterloo in Garfield County... :wink:
And that brings me back to this guy down south.... I have to wonder what is he thinking... I saw pairs sell today for $2800... If he had just went out and gathered these cattle- and sold on his own-- he could have a pocket of cash to reinvest- BUT I was also involved in a court ordered seizure of of almost 800 head where several ranchers had to file a lien against the cattle to get repaid for a court ordered feeding/care of the cattle that were being starved the year before-- and when government gets involved in the seizure the cost's escalate quickly... Especially since that one was a threats/gun play seizure too- so the seizure included not only cowboys but several law enforcement protecting the cowboys, cattle , and sales yard until the whole incident was done.....
Yep- been there done that......