Bishop - Agencies to crack down on destructive 'boonie parties'

Inyo National Forest Supervisor Jim Upchurch, Bureau of Land Management Bishop Field Office Manager Bill Dunkleberger, Inyo County Health and Human Services Director Jean Dickinson and Inyo County Sheriff Bill Lutze (seen here, l-r, at a press conference Monday) are just a few of the representatives of area agencies working to curb underage drinking. Photo courtesy Karen Kong

6-7-2008

Underage drinking has an effect on everyone in the community, whether it is the result of an abandoned campfire, drunk driving or litter on public lands.
With that in mind, several local agencies, including law enforcement, Inyo County Health and Human Services and land management organizations, are cracking down on so-called “boonie parties.”
The cooperating organizations met on Monday for a conference regarding underage drinking and discussed some of the damages caused by young partiers.
“Everyone here knows that when the weather gets warmer, the youth of Inyo County venture out in, beer in hand, onto our National Forest, to the river, the Alabama Hills, the Buttermilks and many, many other pieces of land,” Inyo Tobacco Control Officer Karen Kong said on Monday. “Parties big and small take place outdoors on virtually every Friday and Saturday night. All of the people here today deal with this issue on a weekly basis; whether it’s trash left behind, an abandoned campfire or drunk driving.”

Some of those negative effects of partying were displayed at the meeting in the form of pictures of garbage, tracks made by a vehicle off the beaten path and abandoned fires that remained smoldering hours after the last of the party-goers had abandoned the remote party location.
“At some of these spots, five bags of trash and over 500 beer cans were picked up,” Kong said. “And this is only the damage visible to the naked eye. Injuries from fights, regrets following unplanned or unwanted sexual encounters, and dangers from drunk driving, and, not to mention, the alcohol itself are all damaging to our youth and come out of underage drinking.”

This is just one example of remains from a so-called “boonie party,” where local youngsters gather to drink on public lands, and often leave behind a giant mess, including beer cans and other garbage. Photo courtesy Karen Kong

In order to better enforce underage drinking laws, the agencies represented at Monday’s meeting are planning better coordination amongst each other, and increased monitoring efforts of known party spots.
“The BLM is committed to work with our federal, state and local agency partners to maintain the public lands as well as public health and safety – through education, correcting unsafe conditions and enforcing applicable federal and state laws on the public lands,” BLM Bishop Field Manager Bill Dunkelberger said Monday.
Bureau of Land Management, LADWP and U.S. Forest Service personnel, which each conduct routine patrols on their own pieces of public land, have vowed to watch for underage parties, make note of popular party spots and work with law enforcement agencies to curb underage drinking.
“Resource impacts associated with ‘party spots’ have cost the taxpayers thousands of dollars in patrol and enforcement, resource restoration, garbage removal and fire suppression,” said U.S. Forest Service Supervisor Jim Upchurch. “Threat of wildfire associated with many of the locations where underage drinking occurs is high, and communities adjacent to National Forest Service lands are at risk” due to poorly kept or abandoned campfires, which could potentially lead to wildfires.
The Forest Service has vowed to steer youngsters in Inyo County away from illegal use of the public lands and towards more acceptable activities through education.
“There are many legitimate activities that local youth can engage in on the National Forest. We strongly encourage them to engage in these activities and support their use and enjoyment of their National Forest,” Upchurch said.
Government agencies aren’t the only ones effected by underage drinking, so those agencies are hoping to rally support from the community to help curb this epidemic.
“We want the whole community to get involved in this issue and see what we as a community want to do about it,” Kong said.
“Underage drinking is first and foremost a family matter,” said Inyo County Health and Human Services Director Jean Dickenson. “Every recent survey shows nothing impacts the issue of underage drinking more than parents talking with their kids, sharing their thoughts, their beliefs and values. But the community has a role to play as well. What does Inyo County think about underage drinking? What is acceptable and what is not? Health and Human Services hopes to start a community dialogue about this issue,” she said.
In order to open that dialogue, Health and Human Services and its partner agencies will be hosting two town hall meetings – one in Bishop and another in Lone Pine – in order to bring as many residents on board as possible.
“Health and Human Services is interested in the entire issue of underage drinking because all of us, in our own way, deal with this issue,” said Kong. “We just decided that rather than deal with this individually and separately, we could work together.”
The first town hall meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 24 at 7 p.m. in the Home Economics Building at the Tri-County Fairgrounds. The second meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 1 at 7 p.m. at Statham Hall in Lone Pine.
Everyone is invited to attend one or more of the town hall meetings to share their feelings and ideas regarding boonie parties and underage drinking.