I activated Mt. Evans for Summits on the Air (SOTA) on July 15th. I took the route from Summit Lake to the top early in the morning since thunderstorms were in the forecast for the afternoon. I had the peak to myself for almost half an hour which was unexpected, considering that there is a road all the way to the top. I setup my vertical Buddipole for 20m and started my activation – so far nothing out of the ordinary besides the bad band conditions due to the recent CME.
Mt. Evans – BP on the summit
I was talking to ACØA in Kansas when I spotted a National Forest Ranger running up the path from the parking lot. I could not understand what he was saying since I was
- distracted by my ongoing QSO and
- the lack of oxygen combined with his running up the mountain made his signal about a 22, with highly distorted audio.
He arrived at the summit breathless and stood next to me, courteous enough to let me finish my QSO (or just to catch his breath?). He then introduced himself and informed me that I have to take down the antenna immediately.
My first thoughts were that the antenna was considered some sort of a safety hazard for other visitors but NO. The reason is, he informed me, that you cannot build a structure on Nation Forest land without a permit. Sounds like a sensible rule to me…. who wants to see cabins etc. erected on public land everywhere. I argued that my antenna can hardly be considered a structure and my short survey among the few visitors on the summit (~10 people) came to the same conclusion – nobody considered my antenna a structure but he insisted. Furthermore he instructed me to drive to the Clear Creek Ranger District HQ in Idaho Springs to get a permit. Needless to say that I was not planning to make a ~60 mile round-trip to get a permit for my activities. I already had enough contacts for my Mt. Evans SOTA activation and the fact that I had planned another activation for later in the day I did not want to waste my time arguing and started to pack up. Luckily I had my tape-measure YAGI with me for my next activation and I was hoping it would pass the NOT BEING A STRUCTURE test by the National Forest (to make sure I did not ask).
I tried to follow up with the person in charge for the Clear Creek Ranger District… she is on vacation. Sure glad I did not drive all the way to Idaho Springs.
GOOGLing, I found Forest Rules You Need to Know, published by the Secretary of Agriculture. On page two, under the chapter OTHER PROHIBITED FACTS it indeed prohibits “Constructing, placing, or maintaining any kind of communication equipment without a special use authorization“. Again, that makes sense to me to avoid that every Tom, Dick and Harry sets up his own repeater on public land… it does however not make sense to me for a temporary, mobile/portable antenna as I was using.
It would certainly put a damper on SOTA activations and the upcoming 14er event. I am almost certain that on Field Day a lot of antennas go up on NF land.
I would be interested in your experience and/or opinion and I am planning to follow up with the Clear Creek Ranger District. Maybe I was just dealing with an overly eager Ranger? Stay tuned…
Matt/KØMOS
UPDATE: Read the conclusion
!! WARNING !! There are old mountaineers, and
bold mountaineers... there are no old-bold mountaineers.
Hiking and mountain climbing are potentially hazardous activities particularly in Colorado with its extreme elevations. I am not accepting responsibility for any death or injury resulting from activations based on my trip reports. Proper training, experience, and personal capability assessment is required - enjoy!
I ran into a ham this weekend in White Mountain National Forest who told me he had a special use permit to erect antennas on FD, on summits in NF. I was thinking that that was odd. I wish I had read this first, as I would have pursued it more. I guess I have been a serial rule breaker. I think we need to investigate this more. What is a structure? My antenna is no more a structure than a tent and up for less time.
Doug
W1DMH
I could understand it for long duration events, but not for something like a SotA activation.
Hi, Matt.
Too bad we didn’t manage a S2S contact on Sunday. One way around the structure rules may be a backpackable antenna. This guy does some of that:
http://www.n0lx.com/
I’ve never tried any of his designs, but some are pretty creative. He claims some success, though.
I wonder if this might be something to be brought to the ARRL’s attention. It would be nice if they could talk to the park service and get an understanding that short duration portable antenna’s don’t need a permit.
You should absolutely involve the ARRL on this matter. This is probably an issue with interpretation, BUT, how many times are we going to get “kicked-off-the-mountain” for such an issue?? Fight, fight, fight!!
Matt I would bring this to the ARRL attention and probably ARRL section manager for the area as well. I would not give up if the person in charge is on vacation for longer than expected either. I’m curious if there is a fee for the permit or merely paperwork…It doesn’t matter I would still fight it and bring it to the ARRL attention. I wait anxiously to hear your progress.
How is this a structure and a tent not one?
Sounds like a new guy, who has read the rulebook, but does not understand the intent of the rule.
It helps to read the entire rule in context, as well as the rest of the regulations.
36 CFR
261.10 Occupancy and use.
(a) Constructing, placing, or maintaining any kind of road, trail, structure, fence, enclosure, communication equipment, significant surface disturbance, or other improvement on National Forest System lands or facilities without a special-use authorization, contract, or approved operating plan when such authorization is required.
As I read this, it appears that the rule is intended to apply to permanent or semi-permanent installations, and not to temporary recreational uses.
251.50(c) makes it clear that noncommercial recreational uses are not generally subject to permit requirements.
251.53 Authorities.
Subject to any limitations contained in applicable statutes, the Chief of the Forest Service, or other Agency official to whom such authority is delegated, may issue special use authorizations for National Forest System land under the authorities cited and for the types of use specified in this section as follows:
(l) Permits, leases and easements under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, 90 Stat. 2776 (43 U.S.C. 1761–1771) for rights-of-way for:
(1-4) utilities – reservoirs, pipelines, power generation/transmissions, etc
(5) Systems for transmission or reception of radio, television, telephone, telegraph, and other electronic signals and other means of communication;
251.50 Orders.
(a) All uses of National Forest System lands, improvements, and resources, except those authorized by the regulations governing sharing use of roads (§212.9); grazing and livestock use (part 222); the sale and disposal of timber and special forest products, such as greens, mushrooms, and medicinal plants (part 223); and minerals (part 228) are designated “special uses.” Before conducting a special use, individuals or entities must submit a proposal to the authorized officer and must obtain a special use authorization from the authorized officer, unless that requirement is waived by paragraphs (c) through (e)(3) of this section.
(c) A special use authorization is not required for noncommercial recreational activities, such as camping, picnicking, hiking, fishing, boating, hunting, and horseback riding, or for noncommercial activities involving the expression of views, such as assemblies, meetings, demonstrations, and parades, unless:
(1) The proposed use is a noncommercial group use as defined in §251.51 of this subpart;
(2) The proposed use is still photography as defined in §251.51 of this subpart; or
(3) Authorization of that use is required by an order issued under §261.50 or by a regulation issued under §261.70 of this chapter.
261.50 Orders.
(a) The Chief, each Regional Forester, each Experiment Station Director, the Administrator of the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit and each Forest Supervisor may issue orders which close or restrict the use of described areas within the area over which he has jurisdiction. An order may close an area to entry or may restrict the use of an area by applying any or all of the prohibitions authorized in this subpart or any portion thereof.
(b) The Chief, each Regional Forester, each Experiment Station Director, the Administrator of the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit and each Forest Supervisor may issue orders which close or restrict the use of any National Forest System road or trail within the area over which he has jurisdiction.
261.70 Issuance of regulations.
(a) Pursuant to 7 CFR 2.60, the Chief, and each Regional Forester, to whom the Chief has delegated authority, may issue regulations prohibiting acts or omissions within all or any part of the area over which he has jurisdiction, for one or more of the following purposes:
(1) Fire prevention or control.
(2) Disease prevention or control.
(3) Protection of property, roads, or trails.
(4) Protection of threatened, endangered, rare, unique, or vanishing species of plants, animals, birds or fish, or special biological communities.
(5) Protection of objects or places of historical, archaeological, geological or paleontological interest.
(6) Protection of scientific experiments or investigations.
(7) Public safety.
(8) Protection of health.
(9) Establishing reasonable rules of public conduct.
(b) Regulations issued under this subpart shall not be contrary to or duplicate any prohibition which is established under existing regulations.
The ARRL only needs to get involved to the level of informing their members of the rules. The permits are easy to get and necessary to keep track of what is going on in the National Forest. Campfire permits are required too; not because the Forest Service hates campfires or people, but so they can tract activity.
Dino, out here in California, campfire permits are simple to get. You download and print a pdf, sign it, and carry it with you. It’s good until the end of the year, anywhere in the state, subject to local restrictions. You can also get them in person. They are required for all campfires, stoves, and lanterns used outside of developed campgrounds.
Aside from counting the number issued or downloaded, there is no tracking of the campfire permits.
In reality, fire restrictions are in place most of the year, ruling out campfires in most places, so it’s mostly a stove/lantern permit.
I can see why a Field Day group would need a special use permit, especially if they are a large group, or are using generators, or erecting towers, but all of that would be outside of what might be considered normal recreational use. A couple of hams running battery stations with low profile wire antennas would be a different story.
I operate VHF/UHF contests, and set up a 12′ mast with several antennas (Arrow style yagi’s for 144/432 and a 6m Moxon) on it.
I am of the opinion that if I carry it in in my backpack, up 5 miles of steep rocky trail, that it is portable, recreational, and thus allowed. If all else fails, I can hang my tarp from it.. After all, the mast is just a tarp pole with a 4′ extension added.
I normally operate within a campground in a local openspace district, and there is nothing in the district rules to prohibit amateur radio operation. The only thing that would come close is the “no loud radios in the campground” rule, and I would argue that the rule is not intended to restrict ham radio, but rather loud boom-boxes and such. I would also point out that wording of that rule does not actually prohibit loud MP3 or CD players..
Since most of the times that I have been there, there have been maybe 5 people there, it does not appear to actually be a problem.
Dino,
I disagree about both the convenience and necessity of the permits; a portable ham antenna temporarily guyed to a few rocks for a couple hours is less impact on the environment than a tent. In many NFS areas, camping permits are not required for small groups, so I see an antenna permit as unnecessary.
Additionally, permits are not easy to get if–like me–your plans aren’t finalized until ~24 hours in advance to get reliable weather forecasts and you work full time during the week.
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Whatever happened to “common sense”? Political correctness seems to have taken over completely with regards to citizens use of public property!!!
If you plan to reply or comment using frivolous excuses don’t bother. Too much GOVERNMENT in our lives.