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RE: [pct-l] bear canisters on the JMT



Dave wrote:
>
Why are we trying to match wits with the bears (who are obviously 
much smarter than the average Park manager) instead of deterring them from 
entering our camps by making them afraid of us.
>

And he wrote:
>
When asked if you had a bear canister, were you 
required to show it to them without a search warrant?
>

I just got back from Yosemite and I thought I'd follow up on this even
though the thread is old.

First, I don't know if this has been mentioned on pct-l yet, but as of May
of this year, park rangers have the authority to use any means necessary to
make problem bears afraid of people.  There are regular ranger patrols in
Yosemite Valley who are armed with shotguns containing rubber slugs, starter
pistols that shoot large firecrackers, and aggressive dogs.  When they spot
a bear in a "populated" area, they call fire down from heaven upon its head.
:-)  Reports are that it's working really well so far.  They lit into a
couple of their most notorious problem bears, who scrambled for the
backcountry and haven't been seen since.  I guess the NPS is getting a clue.

Secondly, I'm not a lawyer, but I think Dave's understanding of the laws
regarding illegal search and seizure is a bit confused.  Illegal search and
seizure comes into play when the government wants to make sure you *don't*
possess something, like drugs.  In order to do that, they would have to
invasively search you and paw through your possessions in order to prove
that you're not carrying contraband.  The law says they can't search someone
at random - they have to have probable cause, and/or a search warrant.

However, the NPS wants to make sure you *do* possess something, which is an
entirely different matter.  The NPS doesn't have to search your pack to
determine whether or not you're carrying a bear canister.  All they have to
do is require you to produce a canister on demand.  If you decline to
produce one, then you get a fine, even if you did in fact have one in your
pack.  It's not the NPS's job to search you to *prove* what you do or don't
have, and they don't need to in order to enforce the law.  They don't care
what you have in your pack, they only care that you're able to show them a
bear canister.  Illegal search and seizure has nothing to do with it.  This
is perfectly legal and is the same as the requirement that you have a
driver's license, etc.

In other words, a search without cause is illegal because the government can
discover things unrelated to the target of the search.  A demand to produce
is usually legal because there's no risk of unrelated discovery.

Just a thought for anyone inclined to civil disobedience.

Eric
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