Unauthorized Noncommercial Group Use Incident

The Rainbow Family of Living Light is a loose-knit group of people who gather annually on a national forest. They describe themselves as having no leaders and no organization.

The Rainbow Family holds a national gathering once a year. Since the first gathering near Strawberry Lake on the Arapaho National Forest in 1972, the incident has taken place on a different national forest each year. In recent years, national gatherings have attracted approximately 5,000-10,000 people. Local and regional gatherings occur during other times of the year. The incident this summer is expected to draw approximately 10,000 visitors to the Plumas National Forest.

At the end of each annual gathering, members form a “vision council” to meet to discuss the location of the following year’s event.

During the spring and early summer, Rainbow scouts research and visit areas to find a suitable location, according to their standards. Scouts may visit local Forest Service offices requesting information and maps. In mid-June the spring council occurs, often at the location of the annual gathering or very close to it. The specific location and time typically are not revealed to the Forest Service until this happens.

Within one week of the spring council about 1,000-2,000 attendees arrive on site. There will be a continual build-up of Rainbow Family participants reaching 5,000-10,000 people depending on the location by July 4. Once the site is determined, the Rainbow Family utilizes the internet and other communication methods to let others know the location and directions to the site.

The current incident is occurring on the Plumas National Forest Mount Hough Ranger District approximately 5 miles north of Antelope Lake Recreation Area in Plumas County.

The incident peaks on July 4. After that, there is a drastic reduction in attendance. Typically, there is a group of Rainbow Family participants that stay to clean up and rehabilitate the site. There may be other people as well that remain for a couple weeks.

Forest Service regulations require all noncommercial group use, defined as activities that have no entry or participation fee charged nor the primary purpose being the sale of a good or service and activities being conducted on National Forest System lands that involves 75 or more people, be authorized by the Forest Service through a special use permit for noncommercial group use.

Large group gatherings in national forests can adversely affect the forest resources, public health and safety, and the availability of public lands. The Forest Service has a responsibility to manage these issues through special use authorizations.

The Rainbow Family has consistently refused to comply with the permit process during national gatherings. They claim to have no leaders and no one member of the group who can speak for them or sign a permit on behalf of the group.

The Forest Service assigns a National Incident Management Team (NIMT) for the event.  Team objectives include:

• Address health and safety risks to the public and participants.
• Minimize environmental impacts with Law Enforcement presence and action.
• Recognize and mitigate social and political impacts.
• Respect civil rights of all members of the public.
• Work in partnership with tribal, state, county, and local law enforcement, health, and other organizations.

As soon as Rainbow Family participants select a site, they set up a welcome tent, camping and social areas, parking and shuttle areas, health care areas, and several outdoor kitchens. They develop water sources and dig trench latrines. There is no fee for attendance, but they collect donations for food and other necessary items for distribution. They designate special areas for group gatherings, families with children, men, women, and partygoers, to name a few. Attendees are advised to bring their own camping gear.

Possible resource impacts include compacted soil, water quality degradation, sanitation issues, disturbance to sensitive archaeological sites, disruptions to threatened and endangered plant and animal species, and fire danger.

The Forest Service has mobilized a National Incident Management Team with experience managing these types of incidents. The team works closely with the local community, including law enforcement agencies, throughout the incident to protect the health and safety of everyone involved, lessen environmental impacts and enforce laws.

The group represents a very diverse group of individuals. As with any large population, a certain percentage of incident participants can be expected to engage in illegal or socially unacceptable behaviors. Some activities may include public nudity, civil disobedience, drug and alcohol abuse, confrontations between Rainbows and locals, abandoned or disabled vehicles, and traffic congestion and parking for approximately 1,000-2,000 vehicles.

No. All national forest visitors must obey federal, state, and local laws and regulations, including fire restrictions.

Fire restrictions will be put in place under all normal protocols. Fire prevention and law enforcement will be patrolling, and enforcing federal, state, and local laws and regulations.

The Forest Service does conduct water quality testing as part of the regular monitoring procedures. If during these tests the data indicates a public health risk, the appropriate health departments will be contacted, and possible closure orders put in place.

The Rainbow Family typically rehabilitates the land following the incident. At past events, many participants have stayed to assist in site clean-up, and the Rainbow Family have paid for trash disposal with a local vendor. Forest officials anticipate this will occur again this year.

Management of the incident is coordinated by the National Forest and National Incident Management Team with local officials, including all Tribal, federal, state, county, and local law enforcement agencies, as well as emergency service organizations, public health departments, and social services.

The Forest may issue special closure orders to protect the health and safety of visitors and/or natural resources that could be impacted by the incident.

Yes. However, all National Forest visitors must obey federal, state, and local laws and regulations. The Forest Service takes the enforcement of those laws seriously. There may be impacts to the community, neighbors, and other forest visitors. The Forest Service will work hard to minimize any negative effects to local communities and the environment.