Yep. And this is what worries me.

You see, I heard that there was little or no compliance enforcement last weekend, the weekend before the biggest Glamis weekend of the season, but I just couldn't believe it.

So I started asking around and had a lot of people confirm it but still didn't want to believe it. Obviously the reports were correct.

It seems the promise to really concentrate on compliance was yet another slight of hand.

Another one is the claim that they would be using a more accurate way to count visitors this year when in fact they are using the same tired (and inaccurate) method as years past.

When I asked about this I was told that was the only way we could rely on figures to compare from last year to this year.

Huh?

I must be missing something here.

Oh, and for good measure I was warned that we might not be happy with the numbers a more accurate system would provide... something about amending capacity limits (personally I thought the warning was a lot like telling kids to go to sleep or the boogeyman will come).

The method they have been using involves axle counters. They take the number of "hits" and multiply it by 3.5. Then they subtract a percentage (I think it's 30% but I've heard several different formulas) to account for trips into town, trips to vendor row, etc.

We know the BLM acknowledged that this is not an accurate way to arrive at a true visitor count. Of course it isn't. And because visitor count is so very important to determining accurate compliance (and therefore accurate budgeting), and also because accurate visitor counting is so very important to the RAMP, we were told they would improve the system.

They have not.

As to how they're not making good on their promise to ensure compliance... I expect next we'll hear "but yes we are, look at the fine job the LEOs are doing."

While they may think they're doing a bang-up job (no pun intended), what about last weekend's bad example? Or talk to the guy who followed a ranger all the way down Gecko on a lazy Friday afternoon and counted the primary vehicles with no visible pass... the ranger drove by without stopping and yes, the campsites were occupied.

But I suppose a fair number of citations were issued for non-compliance while those gas fire trenches burned at Olds over Halloween weekend so we should be happy.

Vicki

Interesting. Asking the question "how many are you expecting" makes it sound like they assumed you were saving space for someone, which is clearly against ISDRA regulations. Nice setup.

You must have had ample room between your vehicles for them to ask such a question. There is no regulation against parking to suit your camp's needs, such as entry and exit points for trips to town, parking for camp visitors, etc. If at a later time in the weekend you decide to give up some of that ample space for a friend, that is of course your choice.

Vicki