i was almost arrested for.........apples.

What do you guys think about the wild asparagus that grows on the side of public country roads? Usually if its not picked its burned (they consider it a weed), so I have no problem picking it. Yum

reply to post by rubbertramp

If you want to risk explosive diahrrea, drink all you want. If you get the Sh**s in the park, make sure you pack out your runny poo so you are not contaminating anything else.
Actually, you are not supposed to use streams for any reason but looking at. Your canteen, your boots, your shoes....all can carry things that would contaminate any stream you run into. Spring water is usually protected at the source, and will be signed if drinkable. Otherwise, steer clear. You can't tell what is in water by eyesight (something I usually apply to people claiming pictures of chemtrails). Parasites are no picnic, and you won't know you have it until you are violently sick. And people get them from drinking "clean" stream water.

And yes, I have worked in a USDA National Forest/ Recreation Areas for two summers while I was in high school. There are strict rules about your impact on places. You aren't supposed to impact areas not set aside for recreation. And then you aren't supposed to eat or drink anything you find.

reply to post by hawkiye

One of the reasons I wanted to work for the USDA forestry division is because I wanted to work with the reintroduction and preservation of apex predators.
Wolves are an apex predator. If they kill a few cattle on Federal land leased at ungodly cheap rates, tough cookies. It should be the price paid for having such cheap rates.
When deers starve, the strong ones survive, improving the health of the following generations. I would much rather see an old, maimed, or sickly deer die of starvation than see the prized buck mounted on someone's wall. Humans impact wildlife in the reverse order of natural selection. Starvation, sickness, predation remove the right individuals.

Originally posted by rubbertramp
alright, i've checked every local map, old map, quadrant map etc.....that i could find on the internet.
i can't find any sort of designation besides just being normal cibola national forest land.

"Normal ....National Forest Land", is considered a preserve except by special license.
If you don't know what the rules are, look them up. I worked in a "normal" National Forest land and couldn't remove a stick to use as a walking stick, berries we found along the trails, any water except where specifically labeled.......
The only things they don't mind if you take with you are the fleas, ticks, lice, and chiggars. I had all four.

reply to post by Asktheanimals


Some of us don't believe anyone has the right to make these laws/rules/regualtions, that big brother is an illegal dictator, and that we have natural rights as all creatures great and small to build our homes where we will and the natural resources.

I know I do. And I would only cooperate, within local grass roots run counsels and communities that all contributed to, if it was reasonable, not caring if a minority can brainwash a majority.

I think I figured out the problem. Apples, huh? I think you ate from the Tree of Life. Now you know everything, and you can take over the world. Who knew the great implications involved in eating an apple? Go easy on those of us who don't have the knowledge of God.

reply to post by Unity_99
[more]

And matters such as sewage, clean water and waste removal.....just toss those aside as well?
Lands are set aside with rules so they will remain as they are. It's man who makes it a necessity to have rules, because man would overun all the beautiful natural places, taking what they want, leaving what they don't, and turning the entire world into a large trailer park. The land in question here will be there for our children and our children's children and beyond, unless people who just want to live and do and take whatever they want take over.
No thank you.

I don't know if anyone else has said this...

But it's "Harvest" season for marijuana, or getting close to...so i've heard.
from the sound of your story, the Sheriff's may have been looking for people cultivating there in the forest.? Just a guess...

not that it makes it right.

The Kanawha county sherrif's department here in WV are doing the same thing. This summer they were running people off of the mountains who were up there picking blackberries. The land is owned by Massey Coal....

reply to post by RestingInPieces


Boy do you ever sound like you think 'public property' should not be available to the public.

I'm not trying to put words in your mouth but you sound like someone who wants people off of public land.

Originally posted by State of Mind
What do you guys think about the wild asparagus that grows on the side of public country roads? Usually if its not picked its burned (they consider it a weed), so I have no problem picking it. Yum

I went "molly moocher" hunting this year, first time ever. Batter and deep fry them. They are delicious.

A little history about Molly Moochers via en.wikipedia.org...

*** hickory chickens, as they are known in many parts of Kentucky; and merkels or miracles, based on a story of how a mountain family was saved from starvation by eating morels.[2] In parts of West Virginia, they're known as "molly moochers." Other common names for morels include sponge mushroom."

In my last post, i mentioned The KC Sherrif's Dept. running people off for picking berries..

And so i sit here and can't help to think...
There are so many wild plants and sources of food for people in the mountains of WV to live on.

The mountain the Sherrif's are NOW running people off of ..has been in use by the residents of Cabin Creek, WV for generations. Massey never really bothered them... Coal Miner's and their family's go 4-wheeling up there..people pick Mushrooms and Berries and Pawpaw's ..and really utilize the land.

I'll admit sometimes it get's a little crazy up there on the mountain... you always have that crowd..it's in the middle of NOOOO WHERE...So i can understand some kind of policing needs to be done.

But from what i hear, and have seen so far regarding police stepping over the line... i would not doubt one second if THEY ARE trying to discourage people from living off the land.

People make a living monetarily by selling those Molly Moochers and Ginseng as well.

I have been harvesting from trees in national forest for years.
In northern calif i used fruit trees to spot old mining camps as the gold miners planted them every time they had a mine.

The next thing will be them stopping me from metal detecting for gold.
Then i start having that problem i will buy a set of starlight goggles and go metal detecting at night.

I never have seen a forest service employ working in the woods at night.

The California state capitol has many citrus trees...it is illegal to pick them so they just fall to the ground and rot on the sidewalks

reply to post by rubbertramp


All apples belong to the secretary of snake ...

... and that's one bad apple .

Why did you admit to a trio of badger clowns that you

had taken some apples ?

How would said clowns EVER have proved you hadn't legally

bought and paid tax on your fruity feast ?

Next time , say nothing ....

or they may try to tax the carbon dioxide your exhaling !

Originally posted by rubbertramp
i'm heading back up tomarrow, let them arrest me for a pack full of fruit.

Love the attitude.

Next time tell them you brought the apples. What the HELL can they do about it?

[edit on 24-8-2010 by The_Zomar]

reply to post by rubbertramp


If as you suggest the area is unnaturally irrigated using aqueducts it makes this an easy call... its fair game to eat the fruit. Whatever wildlife exists there will have to die off eventually after the aqueduct fails, which is bound to happen eventually.

I'm not saying that would necessarily be legal but it would make perfect sense.

Originally posted by The_Zomar

Love the attitude.

Next time tell them you brought the apples. What the HELL can they do about it?

[edit on 24-8-2010 by The_Zomar]

They can call in CSI for DNA testing. This story has perfect potential for an episode of Park & Recreation... especially if you throw a jury into the mix.

Mod Note: Reduced compounded quote.

Mod Edit: Big Quote – Please Review This Link.


[edit on 2010/8/24 by GradyPhilpott]

reply to post by Gmoneycricket


that makes the most sense out of this mad story. Bt they were P....D when he didn't come down the hill on a cloud

The one thing that was brought to my attention after reading this thread is that when SHTF... many of us won't be able to live off the land.

We are so F*cked.

reply to post by hawkiye


Sorry, I never meant to trash hunters. Not only did I used to hunt I even ran a trapline as a kid
Don't tell anyone though, it's a secret.
Yes, I've seen deer starve and elk foul a creek.
Obviously, the forest service doesn't have it entirely together or there wouldn't have been so many wildfires back in the 80's and 90's from poor logging practices.
And yes, too many important decisions are left to Washington bureaucrats who can't tell a beaver from a brown rat.
Hunters and shooters contribute more money to preserving nature than any other group through license fees and ammunition taxes.
I'm not some ignorant city-dwelling "let's feel good about nature" guy who is afraid to camp because theres "too many bugs. ick!"

OP - I never did say this but handcuffing you was too extreme. I think it was uncalled for and they probably were looking to bust somebody harvesting the you-know-what-weed. Aside from that they were just looking for a way to kill the last hour before their shift changed.

[edit on 24-8-2010 by Asktheanimals]

Living off the land is an unalienable right of all life on this planet.

The biggest reason we have so many state and national forests is to drive up real estate prices by keeping the amount of land available to live on artificially low.

Who does this benefit? Follow the money. Banks, mortgage companies, realtors, they all make money off of the human necessity to have a home.

It should be humanity's goal to continually decrease the price of housing so none are homeless yet the exact opposite has been happening. Having a home is a necessity and yet as time goes on housing prices and rent continue to increase. It is not an accident, it is deliberate, a result of the greedy elite who make the laws, run the nation, and financially benefit from the present real estate system.


All that said, there is a big difference between living off the land and making a living off the land.