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Roosevelt Grass Crisis
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doug_needs_wind



Joined: 02 May 2005
Posts: 35

PostPosted: Sun Jun 03, 2012 7:35 pm    Post subject: Roosevelt Grass Crisis Reply with quote

One of the all around coolest sites, Roosevelt, is experiencing a drought - I suspect the sprinklers are non - operational. The grass is dying! Normally it is beautiful and green, this year it is already brown... BAD!!!

1) Can someone who has info tell us what they know about this?

2) All y'all who love Roosevelt like me, contact the Army Corps as well as CGWA to lobby for some ACTION. (whoever has contact info please post)

3) Someone please repost this on ikitesurf.com, since this site is a mecca for those folks too.

Doug G
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Sun Jun 03, 2012 10:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is one of the many prices people pay for complaining (or not writing letters of commendation) to the Corps about the one man who made Roosevelt work so well for the last three seasons: Camp Host Dan Bauer. We're already seeing some of what's to come, including dying grass and trees, litter, people keeping tired sailors awake by talking past Corps-mandated quiet hours, dogs running loose to crap on the lawn and walk on sails and kites (hell, one WSer pisses on the lawn where kids play, and I've seen parents advise their kids to piss on the lawn where people sleep), broken/closed bathrooms, and park users tampering with facilities. Dan helped prevent all those and many more problems by calling the Corps about dry grass, broken plumbing, etc., by spending countless hours picking up trash, by reminding people of the rules necessary to keep something this heavily used running smoothly, then by calling the Corps when people still refused to behave responsibly. (Camp hosts are not allowed to directly enforce federal laws; their authority ends with calling those who can: the Corps and the police).

But some people think they should be exempt from those and other laws, a few others expect perfection from volunteer/free labor, they complain to the Corps, and the last thing a bureaucrat wants is a complaint on his record. The powerful letters of commendation some people sent were ignored, a few complaints won the day, and the best camp host I've ever known ... plus at least three other volunteer and paid Corps employees plus several rangers in our small area -- have quit or been fired.

There's more that I know for a fact and much more I did not witness and cannot prove, but that's the gist of it for now. The anarchists and whiners have won this round and the Corps cannot find any other people willing to host at Roosevelt, so now until a good host materializes, it's up to park users to rely on others' consciences, peer pressure, and, of course, the Corps rangers and the police.

The park's grass burned years ago after it got dry like this and some idiots started a campfire in the park because there was no one there to stop them. "We have met the enemy and he is us", as Pogo said.

Call the Corps in The Dalles at (541) 296-1181.

Mike \m/
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KevinL



Joined: 08 Jan 2007
Posts: 6

PostPosted: Mon Jun 04, 2012 12:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I remember Dan when he hosted the Event Site. You either liked him or hated him but he sure took his job seriously for the betterment of all. I wonder he is set up this Summer?
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Mon Jun 04, 2012 11:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

He now volunteers for Oregon's state park system.

After hundreds of hours over three years observing Dan deal with a huge variety of people with a huge variety of problems, one obvious factor stands out: 99% of the people who hated him insist that the "rules" -- including state and federal laws, the Golden Rule, common decency, and more -- do not apply to them; the other 1% expect world-class diplomacy from a volunteer with a background as a Navy plumber. When I was offered that job years ago, I told them there wasn't enough money in the Army Corps of Engineers budget to compensate me for that odious job (it pays $zero.) I'm trying to find a way to appeal his dismissal at the federal level without risking losing my access to Corps parks.

Darn right he took his job seriously. In the long term that works far better than taking it lightly. I made plenty of enemies writing parking tickets at the laboratory I managed, but once people realized I was serious about it, they stopped violating the law the base's other 9,980 people obeyed willingly and I could get on with my real job. It's great to see some of Dan's Roosevelt efforts still pay off this year, but I have little expectations that it will last. The grass is an example; have you guys called the Corps about it yet?

Can you imagine the impact of another end-to-end lawn flash fire on 100 kites and sails? It burned about as fast as a man can run.


Last edited by isobars on Mon Jun 04, 2012 11:44 am; edited 1 time in total
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GuyT



Joined: 13 Sep 2002
Posts: 182

PostPosted: Mon Jun 04, 2012 11:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Not good to hear that we're back to dirty toilets, dogs running and shitting all over the place, huge RV's taking 6 parkings spots camped there for the summer.

Will miss you Dan, as a camp host of course, but also has a friend.
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Mon Jun 04, 2012 11:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I expect the Corps to continue enforcing the 14-day stay rule, but it is unwilling to tell anyone that 6 parking places is too many; we've seen 6 visitors fill the entire front (shady) row with tow vehicles, trailers, awnings, furniture, etc. with no regard for the other 100+ people trying to access the park. The Corps also can't be there every time a dog damages a sail, craps where kids play, howls because Dad's out sailing, or bites someone; every time a park user threatens or assaults someone; or every time a vandal or plug renders the bathrooms unusable. That's what 541-296-1181 and 911 are for now that we have no camp host.
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TBird



Joined: 05 Jul 2001
Posts: 65

PostPosted: Mon Jun 04, 2012 2:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ah yes, the annual dog rant. Howling! Biting! Crapping! Ripping sails! Terrorizing children! Better bring in an entire army of cranky camp hosts—it sounds like Roosevelt has descended into complete canine chaos!
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Mon Jun 04, 2012 4:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Not yet. 90% of the dog owners so far this year have kept them on leash, in response to ticketing (and eviction of at least one dog owner) by the Corps, Dan's lasting impact, common respect for others' equipment and personal safety, and a very long lecture to one armed dog owner who threatened Dan and other park users.
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tweeky



Joined: 19 Sep 2004
Posts: 256

PostPosted: Mon Jun 04, 2012 6:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

TBird wrote:
Ah yes, the annual dog rant. Howling! Biting! Crapping! Ripping sails! Terrorizing children! Better bring in an entire army of cranky camp hosts—it sounds like Roosevelt has descended into complete canine chaos!


Let me guess, you have a dog and resent people telling you it should be kept on a leash....
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johnl



Joined: 05 Jun 1994
Posts: 1330
Location: Hood River OR

PostPosted: Mon Jun 04, 2012 9:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

tweeky wrote:
Let me guess, you have a dog and resent people telling you it should be kept on a leash....


and of course feel like it's the dog's poop, not yours, so you don't need to clean it up. After all it is "natural".....
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