So far....in all of time and place in WA, there has been only 1 confirmed effectiveness of this type of public enforcement. It was in Eastern WA and the circumstances were........well, they were perfect. This 1 example is the exception, definitely not the rule.
Pessimism aside......we WILL find out if a TW is effective for what it is designed to do. Which is Education, not necessarily Enforcement.
Actually Money, at least by what ORV Trail Watch has been involved in, we have 2 confirmed, 1 that we are sure they were talked to by the FS shortly after it happened (I guess you could call that a confirmed education), 1 that we are waiting on confirmation, and 2 that we are researching in WA. There are 4 that we have hit a dead end on and can't do anything with. We also have 1 we are waiting on confirmation, and one we are researching in Oregon.
It's not intended to be enforcement and the answer is no TR catching someone off trail will not lead to procecution though a LEO catching someone could lead to procecution.
I beg to differ Binder. Trail Watch catching someone off the trail CAN lead to prosecution. But there have to be certain things that are turned in. I haven't received positive breakdown from the DNR, so I'm not going to include them, but with the forest service they have to have 100% proof of the person in the vehicle is causing the damage/off the trail.. etc..etc. So in other words if you are going in an enforcement manor and taking pictures, one of the best pictures that helps is of who is in the drivers seat (which is not always easy to get), pics of the plate number, and pics of the damage being done. At that point they have 100% confirmation and they can go after them with the big guns - the forest service is pushing for criminal charges. BUT......if you can't get 100% proof, say you have pics of the vehicle causing the damage, a location, and a plate number - no pic of the driver. That doesn't mean all hope is lost. The FS can't do anything, but the Sheriff's department can. They only need 51%. The Sheriff's department won't go for a criminal charge, but they can issue a hefty citation. So that is what we have to work with.
Simple fact of the matter is that it doesn't matter how much educating I, or anyone else from ORVTW or any trail watch, does. No one knows about it. No one hears about it. I've lost track of how many people I have educated about wheeling and the trails. I could educate until I am blue in the face, and put up a post on every single incident, and I might get a response or two. But someone puts up one post of someone spinning donuts in the mud and all of the sudden 200 people are concerned about what is going on. Part of those 200 people are skeptical and pessimistic, another part supportive and encouraging, a smaller part aren't sure what to think, sprinkle in a few who just want to hear their voice and a few that don't have a clue. So much of what we do isn't seen, which is a huge part of the prominent skepticism and pessimism, and because of it those people won't even give us a chance.
Yes it is true that when ORV Trail Watch was first started it was more geared toward reporting/enforcing. But over the last 15 months that has changed to educated when possible, report when necessary. The decision on which is needed is left to the members who witness the incident.
Simply enough - in trying to educate someone you will get one of a couple of responses 1) they will listen and actually do what you are educating them to do 2) they will listen to what you have to say and then still do as they please 3) they will tell you in a not so nice way how they feel about your "educating". And of course there is the fact that you may not even get a chance to even try to educate the person.
But then again.......what do I know.........
