[Geysers] vandalism

Fri Oct 27 23:06:17 PDT 2006

I was in the Park when the incident at Aurum occurred, and as part of my
work for Resource Management examined Geyser Hill closely the next day.  As
David said, there was no other damage; the persons who vandalized the fence
were careful to do the maximum damage to the fence and no damage to any of
the thermal features.  I also heard comments about a chain saw, but the saw
marks on the cut timbers and the small amount of sawdust remaining was
clearly from a handsaw, not a chain saw.

I spoke with the Subdistrict Ranger and the Rangers investigating the
incident at length and assured them that the geyser gazer community and GOSA
officially was shocked at the vandalism and in no way condone this sort of
action.

In my opinion, which I shared with Law Enforcement, it appeared that the
perpetrators were making a statement and did not intend to damage any of the
hydrothermal features.  Nevertheless, they did damage to a structure that
was put in place because of a genuine safety hazard in the winter, causing
damage that will be expensive in time and materials to correct.

I wrote at length about this incident in my column in the October SPUT, and
have made the appropriate contacts in the NPS.  I fully agree with David
Monteith that this sort of behavior is totally unacceptable and I join David
in wishing for (and working for, to whatever extent I can) the apprehension
and conviction of these vandals.

There are effective ways to convey opinions about the suitability (or
unsuitability) of things like the handrail at Aurum to the NPS.  Craig
McClure has sponsored NPS-Geyser Gazer meetings for many years now,
generally around the 4th of July weekend.  Many concerns have been raised,
and most have been dealt with by the NPS.  Not every concern is handled, and
sometimes it takes a long time for action to be taken, but results have been
delivered in many cases.  There are also comment forms at all Visitor
Centers that are read; these forms are treated seriously.  One can also
write a letter to the Superintendent; these also receive attention.

I was personally the victim of this particular vandalism.  One icy morning
in September while doing my data downloads on Geyser Hill I fell on ice at
Aurum and got a nasty lump on my head.  

I do not know exactly how the NPS will replace the railing, but it will be
replaced in some form before the winter season, or possibly the Geyser Hill
boardwalks will have to be closed in the Aurum vicinity because of the
danger.

Ralph Taylor
President, The Geyser Observation and Study Association

>An "official" letter to NPS from GOSA deploring the vandalism, 
>pointing out the desirability of not changing the path location etc, 
>and reinforcing the desire anjd determination of GOSA members to 
>co-operate with and abide by NPS regulations etc (though occasionally 
>disagreeing with them) would I think go a long way to letting this 
>matter settle quickly and without adverse effects.
>
>Regards
>Ron Keam

>>A message From David
>>Monteith                                                        10/26
>>
>>A couple of comments. The first is a thanks to Steve for his Great 
>>Fountain report. The second is more disturbing but of importance.
>>
>>Steve, your description of Great Fountain sounds very similar to what 
>>I've seen in the past as Great Fountain recovered from a wild phase. It 
>>took about a week for Great Fountain to "recover" from the last wild 
>>phase that I saw. In the first few days following the wild phase, Great 
>>Fountain was low and quiet. A day or two preceding the first eruptive 
>>phase after the wild phase, Great Fountain's pool cycled repeatedly 
>>just as you indicated. And, like you, the first eruptions I've seen 
>>coming out of the wild phase tended to be fairly short in duration, 
>>though I've seen some nice height. Unlike you, though, I did not post 
>>my observations, something I regret. Thanks for sharing.
>>
>>The vandalism of the Aurum fence was despicable. The fence is needed to 
>>protect winter visitors. While the fence was a nuisance to summer 
>>gazers, solutions were being worked on. My favorite was an offer by 
>>geyser gazers to remove the fence each summer season and reinstall it 
>>each fall (the fence was only attached by 12 bolts and could easily 
>>have been removed with enough manpower.) Unfortunately, the vandals 
>>made this option nearly impossible. The vandalism was carefully thought 
>>out. It not only destroyed the fence so it was not reusable, it was 
>>also done in such a way so that there was no damage to the thermal 
>>features. All small pieces and sawdust were removed; the area was left 
>>very clean. The two large pieces of the fence were moved away from 
>>Aurum and placed where they would not damage thermal features and could 
>>not be used by visitors to damage thermal features. It took three park 
>>service employees to pickup and move each of the fence sections. Thus, 
>>it was probably a group that vandalized the fence. The destruction was 
>>complete and appears to have been meant to send a message. The 
>>vandalism occurred the night of the annual Labor Day social.
>>
>>So, what is the fallout of this? Well, the most telling is that the 
>>park service's initial report was that the vandals are probably "rogue 
>>geyser gazers." (The circumstances, the night involved and the evidence 
>>I saw leads me to the same conclusion. A conclusion which disgusts me.) 
>>It is encouraging that our relationship with the park service has 
>>improved to the point that they didn't blame all of us. But, the action 
>>of these vandals reflects on us all. It damages our relationship with 
>>the park. It shows a disregard for the rules and more importantly a 
>>disregard for protection of the park resources. I strongly condemn the 
>>action of these vandals. I hope they are caught and expelled from the 
>>park. If I find out who did this I will do everything I can to make 
>>that happen.
>>
>>Dave Monteith
>>
>At 11:16 AM 10/25/06 -0600, you wrote:
>Greetings and Salutations,
>
>I made a quick four day visit to the park Friday to Monday and finally 
>caught Giant from the start. More on that later, but Great Fountain was 
>not acting normally so I thought I'd start by relating what it was 
>doing.
>
>Stephen Eide
>>_______________________________________________
>Geysers mailing list
>Geysers at wwc.edu https://mailman.wwc.edu/mailman/listinfo/geysers
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>Geysers mailing list
>Geysers at wwc.edu https://mailman.wwc.edu/mailman/listinfo/geysers

-- 

#####################
Ron Keam
The Physics Department
The University of Auckland
Private Bag 92-019
Auckland
New Zealand
Phone +64 9 373-7599 extension 87931
FAX +64 9 373-7445
EMail r.keam at auckland.ac.nz
#####################

_______________________________________________
Geysers mailing list
Geysers at wwc.edu https://mailman.wwc.edu/mailman/listinfo/geysers