In response to the shelter in place orders from both the State and the County in an effort to control the spread of the COVID-19, Monterey Ranger District of the Los Padres National Forest will be closing all roads, day use areas, all trailheads and trails in this district effective tomorrow.
Wow! That’s good news! It took less time than I expected for USFS to come to that conclusion. Now for the enforcement part….
Another way that Mother Nature is telling some humans they’re grounded and to go to they’re rooms and behave🌎
The Big Sur residents have too much (negative) influence over our state and federal lands. If this was really needed it would be in force everywhere, not just the Monterey ranger district,Big Sur where the locals deem the visitors unwanted. It is highly unlikely this is wanted in king city, greenfield or other neighboring areas
Aladdin, what part of “shelter in place” and “essential travel” don’t you understand? The reason this closure took effect is because people from out of the area were still treating Big Sur like a destination area putting our small community at risk. Large numbers of people camping on Forest Service roads, highway pullouts, recreating at beaches with bathrooms and garbage service shut down, etc. Last weekend our brave volunteer firefights had to put their health and safety on the line to rescue a woman visiting from out of the county and camping with group of friends at a dispersed campsite on a Forest Service Road. The road that evening had people in everyplace you could possibly park a car camping up there. Literally hundreds of people from all over the State. Big Sur residents are doing their part by staying on their properties and the only “essential traveling” to get groceries to survive. Why shouldn’t everyone else be doing the same????
It isn’t that the Big Sur residents have too much “negative” influence to make this happen here and not elsewhere, it is that when people want to “get away” and not abide by sheltering in place and only essential travel rules required by ALL — not just those who want to, all these people want to come to Big Sur, specifically a certain type of people. ALL State and Federal Campgrounds were closed 3 weeks ago, due to MoCo’s SIP order, and therefore the burden shifted to the backcountry of Big Sur. Since they all want to come here, Big Sur’s backcountry gets overwhelmed and it is no longer safe for anyone, residents and visitors alike. We are far from any medical facilities and we only have a local volunteer fire brigade that is put into jeopardy every time there is an accident, medical emergency, or search & rescue. Eighty cars were camped in a 2 miles stretch of road that is mostly mountainous with very little level flat spots. People end up packed together, particularly when there are 5-7 cars to a campsite — that is 10-14 people, minimum, on top of each other. 80 cars equates to somewhere between 160 and 320 people that are not abiding by the SIP rules for just that ONE day of counting.
Does this include the coastal Big Sur, and its trails?
The USFS ones, yes, like Cruickshank, and others. The state ones, like Andrew Molera were already closed, as was Pfeiffer Beach, etc. The LPNF posted this on FB on Thursday: Beginning today, all roads, trails, trailheads and developed recreation sites on the Monterey Ranger District are closed to the public until June 1. The Big Sur coast is drawing increasingly heavy vehicle traffic and large groups of people, creating circumstances where social distancing is not possible. Additionally, some roads, trails, and trailheads are located adjacent to residential properties and could potentially contribute to exposure risks to local residents. Roads and trails may create unmanageable vectors for further community spread of Covid-19. We appreciate your understanding as we work through these difficult times.”
Jacobson v. Massachusetts
The Court’s decision articulated the view that the freedom of the individual must sometimes be subordinated to the common welfare and is subject to the police power of the state.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobson_v._Massachusetts
Kate, I couldn’t have said it better. On a trip to town for groceries this evening it wasn’t hard to spot disrespectful and dangerous flouting of the statewide SIP order — a group of young people walking past the very large ‘closed’ sign at Garrapata Beach, people grilling at the pull out next to Bixby, RVs continuing to come to Big Sur …
Visitors should be aware that our local sheriff’s deputy is patrolling with the intention of enforcing social distancing measures and has been writing citations for violations of trespassing and no-camping ordinances. Locals who see concerning behavior should use the number for non-emergency calls to the sheriff in Big Sur — 831-755-5111.
Big Sur-
Interesting note to learn from your Wikipedia link that subsequent decisions related to the Jacobson vs Massachussets case of 1905 include a very recent support of Texas re COVID-19 , Roe v Wade and “non-essential medical services”:
“During the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, the federal United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit relied on Jacobson when upholding a Texas regulation halting abortions by including it in its ban on non-essential medical services and surgeries, consistent with Justice Blackmun’s citing of the case in Roe v Wade.”
Suzi
Yes, that current ruling is listed on the wiki link provide under the section heading: Subsequent Developments.
The greater take away from the original ruling is found under the section heading: Precedent.
“Harlan’s decision supported both police power and limits on the power, He stated his nuanced opinion on the limits of government power by saying that “general terms should be so limited in their application as not to lead to injustice, oppression or absurd consequence.”
This leads us to DARVO; DARVO is an acronym used to describe a common strategy of abusers. The abuser will: Deny the abuse ever took place, then Attack the victim for attempting to hold the abuser accountable; then they will lie and claim that they, the abuser, are the real victim in the situation, thus Reversing the Victim and Offender.
The most important thing to remember as an earthling is we only have two choices, Nurture or Exploit; you can’t choose both.