Report cites growing violence in forests

Suzanne Struglinski

Friday, Aug. 29, 2003 | 9:45 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- The window of a U.S. Forest Service vehicle was shot out last May near Mount Charleston, and that was cited Tuesday as an example of a rise in violence against federal natural resource workers.

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility released a compilation of incident reports obtained from the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through a Freedom of Information Act request. The group pointed to an increase in incidents for all three agencies, including 93 incidents for the Forest Service, a 19 percent increase over last year.

PEER spokeswoman Jennifer Reed said a lack of attention to these incidents, especially since they have increased, can make employees feel that they have no backup if they are threatened.

According to Forest Service records obtained by PEER, on May 26, 2002, a Forest Service grader operator was repairing a dirt road near Mount Charleston when he heard several loud "pops" on two of the grader windows. He later found bullet holes.

Law enforcement officers found three men and a woman at a campground directly across from the employee with a .22 caliber pistol and a BB gun.

Dan Jiron, spokesman for Region 4 of the U.S. Forest Service, said all four were eventually charged with reckless shooting and found guilty. They were fined and billed for the damage to the grader. Jiron said they had been convicted of other forest-related violations in the past.

Jiron said any sort of vandalism or other illegal activity is properly documented and referred to law enforcement if needed.