[treeswarper]

[altasnob]

So Mason County Sheriff and the Washington State Patrol are so fully funded that they can afford to have three law enforcement officers chasing after people running around a closed gate? This is a Class B misdemeanor, per the order. It is a violation of federal law, which means it cannot be prosecuted in State Court (such as Mason County District Court) and instead would have to be prosecuted in US Federal District Court, most likely in Tacoma (there are only three in the state, Seattle, Tacoma, and Spokane). This court is reserved for very serious criminal offenses (i.e. bringing down drug cartels and human traffickers). Low level federal misdemeanors are almost never prosecuted. The priority for the Mason County Sheriff should be arresting DUIs and domestic violence offenders. I thought that was their entire argument on why they don't have the staff to bother patrolling Lake Cushman. sparker1965 has proved me wrong.

[mb]

have you ever run an event? or managed some land? it probably takes *way* more than 3 people to enforce 8 miles of parking. a bit of intense outreach for a few days can make a big difference too. then they can back off to 2 people and then nobody. (given that one of the concerns was apparently over violence.... not surprising they want two people at least for a while.) not surprising people don't know it's closed until they get there. people don't check things in advance. it's not marked as closed on google maps (which is a thing you can make happen). signs are often wrong, or evadable.

[altasnob]

The cops are not enforcing 8 miles of parking. The road is closed. There is a sign saying the road is closed. I am not sure if there is a gate or not, but if there is not a gate, it would be very easy to bring up some portable jersey barriers and block the road. And again, there is a sign telling people the road is closed and it is a crime to cross. I would contend it is a waste of resources to have any law enforcement officers standing at the road closed sign, let alone three. 99% of people who drive up and find the road closed will turn around. 1% will ignore the road closed sign, ignore the warning that crossing is a crime, and cross. Is this the crime of the century? There are infinite better things for law enforcement to do than to enforce a road closed sign. And this makes my point. If three cops were up there before the road was closed, these cops could have done their job and made sure the scene and parking situation did not get so out of control to close the road. All of a sudden now that the road is closed the cops are more than willing to spend their day standing next to a road closed sign, twiddling their thumbs, shooting the breeze, and busting delinquents who dare cross a road closed sign.

[Randito]

Three people staffing a closure like that seems like a bare minimum to me. What is a lone person going to do if some scofflaw blasts past the closure on a motorcycle? Abandon the post to give chase? Two people are barely better. How would less than three handle a large group of people approaching the closure that gets pissed off about the closure. A single officer could too easily get scared and start shooting.

[altasnob]

[mb]

let me ask again: have you ever run an event. secured a building or a space? we're living in a world of bad option or worse option. having people posted at a gate is bad, not having them there may be worse.

[Randito]

[Cyclopath]

Nothing unites hikers like a question of whether public land should be open to the public.

[Slugman]

This thread is so easy to read what with the worst of the blabbermouth morons on ignore.

[altasnob]

I should correct one thing I stated above. It is not possible for a gate or jersey barrier to block the entire road at the closure point. Administrative staff at Staircase and residents along the West side of the lake are permitted to go by. But I still think you could block off half the road like Rainier does on the Paradise road when uphill traffic is closed, but downhill traffic is still permitted (in winter around 5 pm). This combined with a sign should be sufficient to communicate to the vast majority of visitors that this road is closed, and the vast majority of visitors will comply with this closure. Some background on Lake Cushman. Olympic National Monument (the predecessor to the park) was created in 1909. The park in 1938. Olympic National Forest was originally created as Olympic Forest Reserve in 1897, then renamed to Olympic National Forest in 1907. Lake Cushman dam was completed in 1926, so it came after the creation of the public park and forest. Tacoma City Light (later purchased by the public utility company Tacoma Power) acquired the pristine forest around the North Fork of the Skokomish River and clear cut it to create Lake Cushman. I am not sure what mechanism allowed them to acquired this land but presume this land was previously owned by the public. Tacoma Power owns all the land around the lake today. Tacoma power, which is a public utilty company, chose to lease some of the lake shore and surrounding land to private persons to build private cabins. All the cabins on and around Lake Cushman today are owned by Tacoma Power and leased to these private persons. Tacoma Power could have developed these lands so that all of the public could utilize and benefit from this area, but chose to develop it so that a small number of people have exclusive use. Today, these lease holders of the public's land have exclusive private use of the public's lake. Lake Cushman dams are some of the most inefficient hydroelectric projects in the nation, producing some of the highest costs hydro power. Tacoma Power has repeatedly threatened to walk away from the dam, using this as a bargaining chip in negotiations in settlement with the Skokomish Tribe. If this were to occur, the public would have a useless dam and have to figure out who pays for the decommissioning and removal of the dam. In any event, it is very unlikely Tacoma Power renews its FERC license after it expires in 2060. After this date, the removal and decommissioning of the dam is likely to occur (like the Glines Canyon dam). If you think the locals are pissed about people partying at Lake Cushman today, wait until they drain the lake and find themselves locked into a long term lease for a cabin next to a mud pit. A huge component of NWhikers posts involve complaining about crowded trails and parking. One solution is closure. If you are happy with the status quo, that is fine. As the character Cypher famously said in the movie, The Matrix, "ignorance is bliss."

[Ski]

^ In regard to your comment about Tacoma Publit Utilities abandoning its Lake Cushman project (which there is is a definite possibility of them doing), you might check out what happened at Lake Tapps when Puget Power (now Washington Energy Services) decided to abandon its White River project years ago.

[altasnob]

I don't know anything about Lake Tapps. Feel free to enlighten me. I know the shoreline is largely privately owned and the only campground on the lake is reserved for exclusive use of Puget Sound Energy employees. I am more interested in exploring areas where "earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain."

[treeswarper]

[Ski]