Mike Castro provides security

In the Orange County Register, October 4, 1998, there was an article entitled "Pay to play, or pay to pay?"

This article was concerning the Adventure Pass and what I found interesting is the sometimes extra charges by private individuals.

Like near Crystal Lake area of the Angeles National Forest where a private company, L & L, Inc., has an agreement with the Forest Service to provide private parking. L & L, Inc. manages the campgrounds,picnic tables, restrooms and parking lots under a
lease with the Forest Service.

L & L, Inc. does not control the trails, however, they receive a $5.00 fee for the use of their parking lot from the public. These parking lots are the closest to the trails or you can drive farther and park for free and hike farther.

So, here is a company who has an agreement with the Forest Service to provide these services for a fee. However, L & L, Inc. has no authority to stop a member of the public from accessing public lands. The company is probably required to have insurance and
maybe there are other requirements.

If the Forest and Service and the Bureau of Land Management want Mike Castro to provide the parking for Deep Creek Hot Springs, why don't they provide him with an agreement to provide that parking?

Instead we have this murky situation where the agencies appear to support Mike Castro's operations in the area, however, there is nothing in writing. When asked about their relationship with Mike Castro, the agencies state that he is just a private civilian. When asking for documentation concerning Mike Castro, I receive responses that either it will cost lots of money or it is withheld because it would reveal a confidential
informant.

The Forest Service did have an agreement with him in the past to remove trash from the springs for a fee. I am not sure if this agreement is still in force.

The difference between the situation with L & L, Inc. and the Bowen Ranch is that the Bowen Ranch actually charges a toll to cross the private property wherein the public is then crossing and parking on another person's property without their permission. The tollroad at the Bowen does not meet the legal definition by State Law. The Bowen Ranch provides no services or facilities. The
public does not receive a receipt when they pay. The public agencies have no agreement with Mike Castro to provide a tollroad and charge a fee.

Even though these arrangements are not legal, they would not bother me so much except that Mike Castro then goes onto public land and threatens and intimidates the public to force them to go through the Bowen Ranch and pay his fee. This is illegal, however, Mike Castro appears to be above the law in this regard.

What this appears to be is an undercover operation with the Government agencies unspoken approval for Mike Castro
to provide "security" for the area by forcing the public to go through the Bowen Ranch whereby Mike Castro screens who may go through and who is turned away. BLM state
"Mike Castro provides some security for a lawless area."

http://www.deepcreekhotsprings.org/sierraemail.html

The Government agencies are mandated to provide public access. They can not regulate who can access and who can not. If a member of the public were to commit a crime on public land, the appropriate authorities can
have them arrested. However, they would either have to witness the crime or have a citizen make a citizen's arrest. The appropriate authorities would be law enforcement.

Unless a member of the public commits a crime
on these public lands, the authorities have no authority to stop a member of the public from accessing public lands and that is the reality.

I think there has got to be a better and legal manner in which to handle these concerns.



Post Edited (03-23-03 23:06)