Paranoia

Every other day, if not every day, Rural Ways can be found wandering around in the hills.  Whether it is an hour scrambling in the Parowan Valley foothills, or a full day in San Juan County with the girls, I like to be out looking around.  On Friday, for example, I went part way up the Vermillion Castle Trail where I found the mountain mahogany tree featured in the POW.  Unfortunately, those innocent activities have put me into constant contact with law enforcement personnel.  Since my post regarding a near-arrest at Maverick, I have been stopped three times in the backcountry—twice by the Utah DNR and once by a federal LEO.  I have been starting to feel paranoid.  There is no probable cause, and I am simply walking around on public land.  I told Tiger the other day, who spends plenty of time wandering the hills himself, that I can only conclude that they must think I 'm a poacher.

Sure enough.  The little local newspaper came out the other day, and it featured this story:  DWR Launches Massive Poacher Patrol Effort.  Bingo.  So that is what is going on.  Law enforcement is "carrying out the largest winter range patrols ever conducted in the state."  Evidently a couple of hundred deer are poached in Utah each winter, costing the state $242,800 in lost revenue, and the Division of Wildlife Resources has had enough.  (I'm all for enforcing the laws, but everyone knows that there are too many deer in the state and that a patrol officer costs probably $80,000 or $100,000 per year in salary, benefits, and truck, so is it really worth it?)  Because law enforcement is "saturating" the same areas where I like to go, we are, I guess, destined to spend a lot of time together this winter.  They could, however, save some effort by putting a note in my file (since they all have access to my record via their on-board computer) saying:  This slack-jawed, half-wit is just walking around with his camera.  Don't waste your time.