Interesting (and humorous) rules on hammock camping in CT

[jjdubs]

I got this from the Clark forum group on yahoo. I particularly like the part about the "potential dangers that hammock camping would create"....

April 12, 2010

Good morning, Chief Parker -

I hope to have many opportunities this year to visit Connecticut's campgrounds and forests. Because a back injury makes it very painful for me to sleep on the ground, even on an air mattress, I camp using a "hammock tent". This tent is suspended between two trees (please see attached photos), using wide straps wrapped around the tree to prevent any damage to the bark:

http://www.junglehammock.com/treestraps.php

The brochure outlining the regulations for using campsites in CT state campgrounds states: "For the safety of all campers, wire or rope may not be fastened to trees." My attachment straps are clearly not wire or rope, and pose no danger either to other campers or to the environment. Rather than try to explain this to the management of each site I may visit, I'm hoping I can obtain input from the appropriate authority stating that the use of these straps is indeed permissible within the letter and intent of the regulations.

I would appreciate any guidance and assistance you can provide. If you have any questions or need further information, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you for your consideration, and I look forward to hearing from you soon!
___

Greg *****

***
May 13, 2010 (after many follow-up emails from me)

Mr. *****-

I apologize for not getting back to you sooner. While we can empathize with your personal situation regarding your back problem, we really can't deviate from our regulations regarding the prohibition of fastening ropes or wires to trees to accommodate hammock camping. We have been approached in the past regarding this practice and unfortunately, if we were to provide a single camper this opportunity then others would expect to follow suit. Given the potential dangers that hammock camping would create, we have had to adhere to a policy that prohibits this type of camping in our State campgrounds.

In addition to dangers associated with falling tree limbs and branches on hammock campers there is also the potential for a dangerous situation that could unfold if a sudden lightening storm or microburst were to strike at night to the detriment of a hammock camper.

It is for these reasons that State Parks cannot support hammock camping. Because we are required to enforce our policy through regulation and cannot enforce individual exceptions and the potential dangers to our campers we cannot accommodate your request.


John Cimochowski
Assistant Director

Department of Environmental Protection
State Parks & Public Outreach Divison
Parks Operations & Management
79 Elm Street
Hartford, CT 06106-5127

Ph: 860-424-3229
Cell: 860-604-2627
fax: 860-4244070

E-mail: [email protected]

***
May 14, 2010

Mr. Cimochowski -

Thank you for your reply

While I appreciate your sentiment regarding my back issues, I regret that my email gave the impression that I was asking for an exception to your regulations. What I was attempting to do was request a clarification for your park staff, since your regulations do not prohibit the use of the straps I use to suspend my hammock from trees. These straps are tree-friendly, and are neither wire nor rope - the two materials clearly prohibited. I find nothing in your regulations or policies that specifically addresses the use of a hammock tent for shelter in Connecticut state parks. I am sure you understand that people camping in tents at the bases of trees face the very same dangers from falling tree limbs and branches, sudden lightning storms or microbursts that you describe as threats for hammock campers.

It would seem to me a simple task to issue a clarification consistent with your published regulations - one which allows the use of your parks by all reasonable and conscientious users, rather than arbitrarily disallowing the use of certain environmentally-friendly equipment without basis in regulation or policy. If there is anything I can do to provide you with more information to assist you, please do not hesitate to let me know.

___

[Mountain Gout]

That is down right scary..

[Cannibal]

Quite typical. I've got a dozen or so emails from Colorado and Florida that say basically the same thing.
Bureaucrats will be bureaucrats; they can't help it.

[eflat7]

I love your response though. Ha.. good job.

[Ramblinrev]

This has nothing what-so-ever with the use of hammocks. It based exclusively and solely on liability issues. In all likely hood they make you pitch the tent on a tent pad which is not exposed to the falling limbs and falling trees or lightning as the few trees left standing would be the target of lightning being the highest points around. It's CYB set up by the legal entities of the states. Sad but everything comes down the $ value of the liability exposure.

[SwinginRanger]

You must remember most regulatory agentcy have no idea as to anything about the great outdoors. They are run by folk who the closest they get to setting foot in the wild is walking to their cars to go somewhere. Its sad really because even most state game and fish, and forresty service our run by people like that.
Victor

[NFA]

It's better to ask forgiveness than permission...just sayin'

Jamie - nfa

[dejoha]

Great letter and response, jjdubs. I agree with your position, and it is regrettable that the agency staff are so frustrating.

On the other hand, I understand the parks position to limit the impact. Many of the state parks I've visited are already over-used, trampled, and otherwise "loved to death." It is sad that some visitors treat public spaces so poorly, and this goes to trees too. In small-ish state parks, the few trees in the area get a lot more compacted use. I think this is more to the point than excuses of limbs falling, lightning striking, or other examples.

Unfortunately, many casual campers I know don't think past their own limited stay in a park. They pick the flowers, defoliate the trees, break tree limbs, and otherwise trash an area with little or no thought of the people who might come in after them. Very little ownership. By limiting what campers can do, park managers try to focus the impacted areas.

In northern Arizona, where there is a lot of public forest, I've seen this problem spread and spread where people camp wherever they dang please, driving 4x4 across the forest floor, creating their own trails, etc., etc. The damaged areas continue to spread because campers don't want to camp in a damaged area -- they want to create their own spot in a pristine area.

By limiting the impact -- especially in state parks -- it can help to preserve some of the natural wonder, before we wonder where it disappeared to.

So, my solution is stealth! Set up late, take down early!

[Hawk-eye]

The word for today

STEALTH

[DARKSHADOW]

They feel the need to regulate camping on a state level?

It's better to ask forgiveness than permission...just sayin'

Jamie - nfa

Agreed,

Bring Websters with you.

rope
   /roʊp/ Show Spelled [rohp] Show IPA noun, verb, roped, rop·ing.
–noun
1.
a strong, thick line or cord, commonly one composed of twisted or braided strands of hemp, flax, or the like, or of wire or other material.

wire
   /waɪər/ Show Spelled [wahyuhr] Show IPA noun, adjective, verb, wired, wir·ing.
–noun
1.
a slender, stringlike piece or filament of relatively rigid or flexible metal, usually circular in section, manufactured in a great variety of diameters and metals depending on its application.

7.Nautical . a wire rope

strap
   /stræp/ Show Spelled [strap] Show IPA ,noun, verb, strapped, strap·ping.
–noun
1.
a narrow strip of flexible material, esp. leather, as for fastening or holding things together.

11. to fasten (a thing) around something in the manner of a strap.