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By GARY HADEN Regional Editor , sportsmen planning to hunt in Idaho had better stock up on bullet proof vests before heading Into the field. At least that’s what I*m led to believe by a clipping sent to the Journal from the Oct. 25 edition of the Reaburg Journal.A group calling itself the Vigilant Committee of 10,000 has posted a warning to Thieves, cattle rustlers, Sierra Club members and others of that ilk — self serving and assuming lords of the earth and all creation; Remember veil and bear in mind, that this may be the only warning you get1To All Others:Keep out, unless you have written permission of property owner.”According to an unidentified source associated with the movement who was interviewed by the Rexburg paper, the committee was formed by a group in MadisonCounty to oppose environmental efforts aimed at stopping the Teton Dam. But, he claims the idea lias now spread throughout the Intermoun-tain area.The anonymous source says committee members are imbued with the spirit of the old West anti will rely on fire-arms to protect their property. In fact, the source claims if you won't use firearms you can't belong to the movement, aU though, he says I don’t think they plan to shoot people right off. But they will shoot up vehicles owned by persons who trespass without first getting written permission.”The group is not only unhappy about trespassers. The source in the Rexburg article singled out the State Department of Water Administration, the Idaho Fish and Game Department and the Department of EnvironmentalandCommunity Services. He says that if the Department of Water Administration wants to fence off streams (something I’ve not heard they wanted to do) they’ll do It over some dead bodies.’’I find this garbage a little hard to swallow. For one thing people I’ve talked to who live around Salmon and Challis, Hie two towns which are supposed to have the majority of committee members, seem to have too much commonsense to fall for this line. Like most of us, they don’t want to tolerate abuse of private property by sportsmen, something [ think I can appreciate because I pew up on a farm. I don’t think anyone can dispute the right oi farmers, ranchers and other large land owners, the three groups allegedly behind the committee, to protect their property from rustlers and thieves.Trying to link the Sierra Club and other environmental groups to thieves and rustlers is about like trying to link Karl Marx to the .John Birch Society. The Sierra Club has been marked by its absence in local Idaho issues. And when the national group has gotten involved it has usually concerned itself with federal lands such as the dispute over wildernesses in the state. This is not to defend the Sierra Club by rjiy means because I find them in many cases to be somewhat idealistic upperclass types who have a serious problem relating to (he ordinary working man. The point is they are not a very realis. tic target to be linked with thieves and cattle rustlers.The Rexburg source who said committee members were buying cases of double 00 buckshot to ward off trespassers has to be telling stories borne on long afternoons of tarroom living. The idea of people with loaded guns ridingf around looking for people to shoot is lunacy. For one thing, it’s impossible for a hunter in many cases to know what’s private and what’s public property. Idaho law makes it anolfecse to trespass, but with stipulations. Unless it’s fenced property with the landowner living on the property or unless it's posted in accordance with tlie law, the trespasser can’t be charged unless he refuses to leave when warned. Shotting up vehicles, perhaps even shooting an individual who trespasses will do no mare than bring convictions for destruction of property and possibly murder, two ttiijigs no reasonable person would seek.Taking the law into their own hands may seem like the thing to do, but as a bunch of fellows around the Capitol are finding, the law has a tendency to catch up. The Watergate crowd was impatient with our system so they attempted to bypass it. Now many individuals have been ruined in the eyes of the public because of Senate Committee testimony. And they still must face the possibility of indictments.If people want to fight land use laws, let them. If they don’t like the government, they should try to change it. If they want to protect their property, allow them to do it within the law. But when they talk about setting ambushes and shooting people who may or may not be guilty of a crime, it’s time to view them as toe crackpots they are.
Newspaper Details
Idaho State Journal
Pocatello, Idaho, US
Fri, Nov 02, 1973
Page 22
Full Page
Clipped by
New M.
NM, USA 26 Nov 2019
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