Vandalism and outdoor recreation: symposium proceedings

8/8/2019 Vandalism and outdoor recreation: symposium proceedings

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VANDALISMAND OUTDOOR RECREATION:symposium proceedings

S E R V I C E.F A G R I C U L T U R E

245, B E R K E L E Y . C A L IF O R N IA 94701

USDA FOREST SERVICEGENERAL TECHNICALR E P O R T P S W- 17 1976


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Alfano, Sam S., and Arthur W. Magill, technical coordinators.1976. Vandalism and outdoor recreation: symposium proceedings. USDA Forest Serv. Gen. Tech.

Rep. PSW-17, 72 p., illus. Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Exp. Stn., Berkeley, Calif.Resource managers, law enforcement officers, designers, and social scientists provide 24 papers

giving an overview of vandalism on outdoor recreation areas; a measure of the difficult controlproblems which must be solved; some insights for design of buildings, fixtures, and site layouts toreduce or repel vandalism; and a profile of vandals, with respect to the potential for reducing theiractivities through understanding of social-psychological factors. Recommendations prepared bypanelists and symposium participants summarize the views presented and suggest measures for controlof vandalism on outdoor recreation areas.Oxford: 907.2:U 343.22.Retrieval Terms: outdoor recreation areas; vandalism; law enforcement; design; social factors.

Technical CoordinatorsSAM S. ALFA NO i s recreation staff officer, Los Padres National Forest. He earned a bachelor ofscience degree in forestry in 1954 at Utah State University. His work in outdoor recreation began onthe Angeles National Forest in 1957 and he also served on the Sequoia and San Bernardino NationalForests before his assignment to Los Padres in 1966. ARTHUR W. M A G I L L i s principal resourceanalyst in the Station's Land Use and Landscape Planning Methodology Research Work Unit, assignedto study of resource impacts, human behavior, landscape analysis, and urban forestry. He holdsdegrees in forestry from the University of Washington (bachelor of science, 1957) and the Universityof California, Berkeley (master of science, 1963). He joined the Station staff in 1957.


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VANDALISM AND OUTDOOR RECREATION:symposium proceedingsSam S. Alfano Arthur W. M a g i l l

Techn i c a l Coordinators

CONTENTS

Pre face . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .The View f rom the F ie ld

V a n d a l i s m ~ A nOverview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .George A. KenlineVanda l i sm on th e Santa Luc ia D i s t r i c t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .John BlakeVandal ism on the M t . P i n o s D i s t r i c t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .James HunterVandalism i n Deser t Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mike WintchVandal ism i n th e Channel Is la nds Na t ion al Monument. . . . . . . . .Ronald W. SuttonVanda li sm i n C a l i f o r n i a S t a t e Par ks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Thomas Kil lerVanda l i sm i n a C i t y Park. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Richard SampVandalism i n Organized Camps i n Cal i f or n i a. . . . . . . . . . . . .Patrick C . Dickson

Law Enforcement. . . . . .andal ism and Law Enforcement on Na tio na l For es t Lands.

T h o m a s A. Hoots. . . . . . . . . .andal ism: The Ca l i fo rn ia Sta te Park Approach.Jerry Morrison

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Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .anda1 ismat"RedRock" 25

J ohn C. E i n o l a n d e r. . . . . . . .aw Enforcement and Vandalism i n Our Nat ion al Parks 27

N i c h o l a s W h e l a n. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mag ist ra t e 's V iew o f Vanda lism. 29

W i l l a r d W. McEwen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .r e a t i v e J u s t i c e . 30

Glenn HamptonDesign and Vandal ism

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .he Designer as t h e Vandal. 34Mi c hae l Morr i s se y

. . . . . .on t ro l o f Va nd a l i s m~ An rch i te c t u ra l Design App roach. 35J ohn Grosv e nor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .esign o f Campground F a c i l i t i e s 37

B r i a r C o o k. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .es ig n v s. Vandal ism. 39

A r t h u r C . D a n i e l i a n. . . . . . . . . . . . . .rev ent ive Plan ning t o Reduce Vandal ism 42

H . E r n e s t R e y n o l d sSocio loqy o f Vanda l ism

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .anda ls Ar en ' t A l l Bad. 46Michael L. W i l l i a m s

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .heMessageo fVanda l i sm. 50A r t h u r W . M a g i l l

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Psyc hoana lyt i c View o f Vandal ism. 54R o b e r t J. Sok o l

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .a n d a l i s t i c F o r es t F i r e S e t t i n g 58W i l l i a m S . F ol km an

C on t ro l o f V an da li sm i n R e cr e at i on A r e a s ~ F a c t , F i c t i o n , o r. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .o l k lo re? 62Roger N . C l a r k


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PREFACEVanda l i sm i s t a k i ng an i nc reas i n g l y b i gb i t e o u t o f t h e f un ds n eeded f o r p r o t e c t i o nand m ai nt en an ce o f r e c r e a t i o n f a c i l i t i e s i ns ou the rn C a l i f o rn i a . The p rob l em i s no tl i m i t e d t o t h e s ou th er n p o r t i o n o f t h e S t a teo r e ven t o Cal i f o r n i a as a w h o l e ~ i t x i s t snat ionwi de. I n 1974, $1.5 m i l l i o n was spentt o cor r ec t vanda lous damage and l i t t e r i n g ont h e 1 7 N a t i on a l F o r es t s i n C a l i f o r n i a , b u t$ 7.5 m i l l i o n was t h e c o s t t o t h e e n t i r e Na-t i on al For est System. Agencies oth er thant he F o res t Se rv i c e a re a l s o pay i ng t he c os to f vandal ism. The Cal i f o r n i a Department ofParks and Recreat ion repor ted $87,000 worthof damage i n 1975, bu t because con sid er ab levandal i sm goes unrepor ted, ac tu al annualco sts have been est imat ed as h ig h as $180,000.The U. S . Bureau o f Land Management has e s t i -mated damage as h i g h as $250,000 pe r ye ar ;a l t houg h tha t i s much lower then the Fores tSer v ice 's cos ts , t he Bureau has fewer fa c i 1 -i t i e s and t h e y a r e more w i d e l y d i s t r i b u t e d .I n gene ra l , v anda l i sm i s i nc reas i ng f o rmuni c ipa l , State, and Federal agenc ies aswel l as fo r p r i va te landho ld ing compan ies .Resource managers throughout th e na t i onar e search ing f o r t he meaning beh ind vanda l -ous acts , hoping tha t thro ugh reason andunderstand ing , t hey can f in d ways t o s top theseeming ly end less des t ruc t ion , t h e f t , andl i t t e r i n g . The Outdoor Rec reat io n Vanda li sm

Symposium, he l d March 26-27, 1976 a t SantaBarbara, Cal i f o r n i a sponsored by the LosPadres Nat iona l Fores t o f t he Fores t Serv iceand t he Sou the rn C a l i f o r n i a Sec t i on o f t heSoc ie ty o f American Fores ters , represents as t ep t ow ard an o rgani z ed , i n t e r d i s c i p l i na r yapp roac h t o t he s ea rch f o r s o l u t i ons . Thesymposium has drawn upon th e ex pe rt is e o ff o r e s t e r s , s o c i o l o g i s t s , c r i m i n o l o g i s t s ,a r c h i t ec t s , pa r k p l anne rs , ps y c ho l og i s t s,l ands cape a r c h i t e c t s , and r e c rea t i on t ec hn i -c i ans t o de f i n e t he i mpac t o f v anda li s m on(1) t he p hys i cal resource and th e user pub1 ic ,( 2 ) th e problems o f law enforcement, ( 3 ) t heo p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r c o n t r o l t hr ou gh f a c i l i t yand s i t e des ign , and (4 ) t he soc io -psycho log-i c a l p r o f i l e o f v an da ls and t h e p o te n t i a l f o rs o c i a l c o n t r o l .

The "man-on-the-ground ," t h e r e c r e a t i o nresource manager, d a i l y faces the consequenceso f vandal ism. He usual l regards ac t s o f van-da l i sm as "senseless" o r "wanton" and cannotundersta nd why some people deface o r de str oyf a c i l i t i e s p r ov i de d t o g i v e them pl e as u re .I n t h i s c o l l ec t i on o f pape rs , s ev e ra l "men-on- the-ground " o f f e r t h e i r vi ew s o f t he

de st ru ct io n wrought by "phantom" vandals ando f " types" o f vanda lous ac ts . Vanda li sm i sv a r i o u s l y d es cr ib ed a s l i t t e r i n g ; d i s t u r b i n gth e peace; damaging o r des t ro y in g vehi c les ,b u i l di n g s , o r o t h er p r o p er t y; s t a r t i n g w i l d -f i re s ; chopp ing down or mu t i l a t i ng t rees ands hrubs; t he f t ; and de f ac i ng ob j ec t s w i t hg r a f f i t i . Managers h ave t a l l i e d t h e c o s t s o fvandal ism, and they have been inn ova t iv e i ndea l ing w i th th e problems , b u t t hey admit t oa l ac k o f sound s o l u t i on s t h a t a re gene ra l l yapp l i cab le . They are seeking ass is tance i ne f f e c t i v e c o n t r o l o f v an da ls .Resource managers work c losely wi th lawenf or cement o f f i c e r s . U n f o r t una t e l y , c a tc h -i n g a va nd al i s n ot s im pl e, f o r a l l t o oof t en , the act i s unobserved and the vandali s gone b ef o r e a n o f f i c e r a r r i v e s . S ev er alresource managers, a law enforcement of f i c e r ,and a mag is t rat e have expressed, i n thesep ro ce ed in gs , t h e i r f r u s t r a t i o n i n d e a l i n gw i th vandals . Some o f f i c er s sugges t s t rongerpo l i c e c on t r o l and o t he r s s uggest av o i d i ng a''h ard approach t o law enforceme nt. Someagencies have tr ai ne d re source managers to belaw enforcement of f icers , whereas other agen-c i e s do no t want managers t o assume th e r e-s p o n s i b i l i t y . The o b v io u s l y c o n f l i c t i n gv iewpoin ts s t ron gl y suggest th e need fo rgreater unders tanding and more uni form1yap pl ica ble approaches t o law enforcement .Arch i tec ts , l andscape arc h i t ec ts , andeng ineers a r e faced w i t h t he d ilemma o f de-s i g n in g s i t e s , b u i l d i n g s , and f a c i l i t i e s t h a ta re v anda l - p roof y e t a t t r ac t v e and s e r v i c e -ab le enough to n ot i n v i t e vandalism--moredes i rab ly , t ha t a re so " i n tune" w i th humanneeds th at vandalous ac ts do no t happen.The soc io log is t -psycho log is t perce ivesvandal ism as a s oc ia l problem th at i s sympto-m at ic o f s o c i e t y ' s f a i l u r e t o p r ov i d e f o r t h eba sic human needs o f a segment o f the pub1 i c .Unfor tun ate ly , no un iversa l answers ar e av a i l -able now or l ke l y t o be. Unders tanding o f

t he d i v e r s i t y o f i n d i vi d u a l m o t i v at i o n -- o fbo th the vandal and the manager--is a neces-s a r y s t ep t owa rd d i s c ov e ry o f d i v e r s es o l u t i o n s .By summariz ing t he papers of the panelsi n each problem area, and s ecur ing audiencein te ra ct io n, we have developed a number ofrecommendations.We hope tha t resource managers and ot he rsw i l l t r y t o f o l l o w t he r ecommendati ons.


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Furthermore, we hope they w i l l record andr epo r t succ es ses o r f a i l u r e s , t hus g i v i ngsome measure o f th e r e su l ts o f th e symposium.Such feedback w i l l he lp t o de te rmine the de-s i r a b i l t y o f f u t u r e meetings, and may al s osuggest add i t ona l r es ea r c h ob j ec t i v es .This symposium on vandal ism broughtt oge t he r r ep r es en t a t i v es o f t he F o r es t

Service, U.S. Department o f Ag ri cu lt ur e, the Soc i ety o f Amer ican Foresters . Paul educat ional chai rman, Southern Cal i fo r n i aSe ct io n SAP, serve d as symposium co-chai rmThe f o l owing Nat ion al Forest pub1 i c in fot i o n o f f i c e r s s er ved as pane l m oder a to r s:El 1 i o t t Graham, San Bern ardi no; David A.Kimbrough, Angeles; Grover Payne, Clevelaand Edward Waldapfe l, Los Padres.


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RECOMMENDATIONS

T he re a r e c u r r e n t l y n o u n i v e r s a l l yapp l i cab le so lu t ion s fo r vandal ism.Develop so lu t i on s t o meet the de-mands o f spec i f c l oc a t ons andc o n d i t i o n s .

Publ i c Involvement and P lanni ng P rov i d o ppo r t u n i t i es f o r t he pub1 i ct o ex pres s t he i r op i n i o ns and i deas about ou t -door re c re at i on p lann ing. I t may be impor tantt o invo lve users i n the development and main-tenance process.*Do comprehens ive s i t e p lann ing on thes i t e , w i t h i npu t f r om s i t e managers, desi gn-ers , and law enforcement spe c ia l i s ts . Useop i n i ons and i deas fr om t he pu b l i c i n t hep lann ing process .

Environmental Educat ion E x p l a i t o v i s i t o r s how v a r i o us a c t i v -i t i e s v i o l a t e human r i g h t s o r damage o r de-s t r o y f a c i 1 t es and natura l resources .Develo programs t o show vi s i ors howt o use v a ri o u s r e c r e at i o n a l f a c i l i t i e s a ndre l a t e d na t u ra l r esou rc es i n a manner t h a t i n -creases thei r enjoyment wi thout damaging prop-e r t y and r e so ur ce s o r v i o l a t i n g t h e r i g h t s o fo t he rs .Us schoo ls and mass media t o in for ma l l l e v e l s o f t h e p u b l i c a b ou t p r o p er an d c on -s i de ra t e us es o f ou t doo r r ec rea t i on a reas .The success o f ed uca t ion al programs i s depend-ent on succ inct messages that avoid profes-s i ona l j a rgon , on p rope r audi ence i d en t i f i c a -t i on , and on s e l ec t i on o f t he bes t med ia o ro ther conveyance to reach the des i redaud i nces . I n i t i a t news cove rage by re c rea t i o npersonne l on i t ems o f pu b l i c concern w i th outre l y i n q on t he news medi a t o w r i t e t hea r t c l e s.

Manager At t i tu de s, Involvement, and Tr ai n i ngSecur person al involvement o f manage-ment personnel i n sol v in g th e vandal ism prob-lem. I t i s es s en t i a l f o r manage rs t o r ea l i z ethat they may ac tua l l y encourage vanda l i smt h ro u q h a c c e p ti n g po or s i t e and f a c i l i t y de-s i gn , p r o v i d i n g r e c r e a t i o n a l o p p o r t un i t e s t h a ta r e m ea ni ng le ss t o u se rs , o r f a i l i n g t o u n de r-s tand and r e l a t e t o the needs o f users .

Consi de t he f u l l r ange o f methodsav a i l a b l e t o managers f o r r educ ing t he e n t i r eprob lem of dev iancy .Avo i ru les tha t mere ly serve managersconvenience, and design, plan, and manage tos a t i s f y t he i n t e res t s and needs o f t he use rcub1 i c .Develo and use t ra in ing programs toi ndoc t r i na t e f u l I - t i me and pa r t - t ime pe rsonnei n pol icy , law enforcement , and personal ap-oroaches t o users.Se up a sound t r a i n i n g program and ane f f e c t i v e c ar e e r l a d d er f o r o u t do o r r e c r e a t i o npersonnel .

Regulat ion, Cooperat ion, and Law Enforcement@Est ab l i sh and use a un i fo r m code o fr e g u l a ti o n s f o r a l l a ge nc ie s i n a co o r di n at e de f f o r t t o r educ e v anda l i s m .Se up annual review by law enforcemenand resource agenc ies o f t h e i r respec t i ve au-t h o r i t i e s a nd r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s t o a s su re ac l e a r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e r o l e s . I n c r e a s a v a i l a b i l i t y o f l a w e n f o r c e -ment personnel whi le minimiz ing costs byu t i l i z i n g t h e S h e r i f f ' s Re se rve De pu ty p r o-gram. Reserves ar e vo lu nt ee rs who work w i t hregu la r Sh er i f f ' s Deput ies dur ing weekends andother heavy work load per iods.

Improv e Agency Image@Promote a favora b le pu b l i c ser v iceimage by

improvi ng employee image o f theagency (bu i d s t r onge r e s p r i t decorps )e x p l a i n i n g t o v i s i t o r s t h e r e a s o n sfor agency ac t ionsprov id ing comple te outdoor rec rea-t i o n i n f o r ma t i o n a t ea ch r e c r e a t i o naream a in t ai n i ng a l ow p r o f i l e bu t f a i r ,f i r m , and i m p a r t i a l p o l i c y i n la wenforcement.


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Court Act ionsTak law enforcement act ion on obv i o l a t i o n s .Mak th e names o f c on vi ct ed vandat h e i r punishment known throu gh th e media

v ious

I s and

Encourag cour ts and magi strat es t osentence misdemeanor of fe nd er s t o work on out-door recr eat ion areas.Management Con tr ol Act ions

Reduc co n f l i c t between types o f recre-a t i o n a l a c t i v i t y ( grou ps v s. s i n g l e f a m i l i e s ,motorboats vs. s ai l boa ts, f ishermen vs. watersk i ers , e tc . ) by ass ign ing them t o separateareas.Pro vid f i rewood a t th e campgroundwhenever pract ica l .

P rov ide sa fe a reas fo r ta rge t p ra c t i cew i t h f i r e a rms . P r ov i d f r e e i n t e r p r e t i v e m a t e r i a ls a tthe s i t e fo r the use and en joyment o fv i s i t o r s .@Pr ovi de evening c ampfi re programs.Us s igns that convey posi t ivemessages. E s t a b l i s o r c o n ti n u e t he i n c e n t i v e

1 i t e r con t r o l p rogram to encourage po s i t i vecampground behavior by both chi dren anda d u l t s .

rangers, care takers, or po l ic e byschedul ing work hours t o co inc iw i t h peak use perio ds and t imesg r e at e st c o n f l i c ta v o id i ng re g u la r p a t t e rn s o f p ausing the tas k for ce concept (o f f i c e r s a t a t im e) t o s a t u r a teproblem areas.

Us volunteer or other manpower pgrams t o p ro vi de campground hos ts (care-take rs ) .Conside h i r i n g a known vandal, wrespected by h is group, t o be a care takerpatrolman.

Desi nD not overdesign; less e lab orate c i l i t i e s would be adequa te .'Des ign t o i l e t b u i l d i n g s t o

meet the needs o f t he usermini mize vandal ism.

Des ig two -un i t v a u l t t o i l e t s w i t hminimum o f 400 square inches o f ve nti ng.Promot awareness by both produceconsumer that some manufactured products(motorcycles, j e t ski s, snowmobiles, hang l i de r s, e t c. ) a r e p o t e n t i a l l y d e s t r u c t i vthe resource and annoying or in t rus ive tononusers.Con t ro l l i ng Access ResearchI s s u e p er m it s o r u se a r e s er v a ti o n -s ys te m t o i d e n t i f y i n d i v i d u a l s , f a m i l i e s , o rgroups, thereby incre asing con tr ol and makinguse rs accoun tab le fo r the i r ac t ions .

(Where possi ble, use entrance st at io nst o c o n t ro l ac ce ss t o re c re a t i o n s i t e s .Charg an ent rance fe e f or s i t e main-tenance or req u i r e a c leanup deposi t , to bef o r f e i t e d i f users f a i l t o leave a c lean camp.Provid gates t o con t ro l ent ry when acampground i s f u l l or a f t e r 10:OO p.m., butwhich permi t departemergency.Inc rease V is ibDes ig s i tes

1 inq o f f i c e r s . ncrease the

r e i n t h e ev en t o f an

l i t y and S u rv e i ll a n cet o be v i s i b l e t o p a t ro l -

v is ua l presence o f

Cont inu research and t es t i ng o f concepts. Re -e v alua t t he ro l e o f p r i v a t e ep r i s e i n b u i l d i n g and o p era t i n g re c re a t i odevelopments on pub1 i c lands .Conduc pra ct ic a l , on-the-ground sea rch on the d i ve rs i t y , in t ens i t y , causand pot en t i a l c ont ro l s o f vanda lism on orec re a t ion s i te s th roughou t sou the rn Ca lnia and i f poss ib le the en t i re sou thwes t

various agencies concerned should cooperresea rch p ro jec t s .Conduc research t o h elp sol ve proo f d i s pe rs e d re c re a t io n , p a r t i c u l a r l y v aism.


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THE VIEW FROM THE FIELD


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I

Vandalism---an OverviewGeorge A . ~ e n l i n e l

I n t h e B r o n x Z oo , New Y o r k , t h e r e i s as i g n a b ov e a w in d ow t h a t s a ys , "S ee t h e m os td e s t r u c t i v e a n im a l a l i v e ! " P e op le r u sh t ot h e w in d ow t o h a v e a l o o k . T he w in do w i se q u ip p e d w i t h a m i r r o r . T he e x p e r i e n c e i sb o t h r e v e a l i n g a nd co n d em n i ng . Man h as be e na nd c o n t i n u e s t o b e d e s t r u c t i v e i n many w ay s.w o u ld l i k e t o e x p l o r e w i t h y ou some o f t h ew a y s m an , w om an , a n d c h i l d e x p r e s s t h e m s e l v e swhen u s i n g t h e m o u n t a i n a r e a s o f s o u t h e r nC a l i f o r n i a . T he se e x p r e ss i o n s o f b e h a v io rw i l l b e la b e l e d as a c t s o f va n da l i sm , t h a t i s ,t h e i l l e g a l d e s t r u c t i o n o r d efa ce me nt o f p r o -p e r t y b e l o n g i n g t o s om eone e l s e .T he m o un t ai n s o f S o u t h e rn C a l i f o r n i a a r eu n i q u e t o m i l l i o n s o f p e o p l e who f i n d t he m aw elc om e c o n t r a s t t o t h e b l i g h t e d u rb a n s e t -t i n g i n w h i c h t h e y l i v e . The m o un ta in s a r e

s t i l l a p l a c e w h er e yo u ca n se e g r ee n t r e e s ,r o c k s, b l u e s ky , f r e s h w a t e r and s t a r s a tn i g h t . M os t a r e lo c a t e d w i t h i n 1 h o u r ' st r a v e l o f f o o t h i l l c om m un it ie s and w i t h i n2 1 /2 h o u r s o f t h e L os A n g el e s m e t r o p o l i t a na r e a .H i s t o r i c a l l y t h e s e mo u nt ai ns h av e s a t a sa n i s l a n d ab o ve a se a o f d e s e r t , b r u s h l a n d ,sm og, n o i s e , a n d c o n g e s t i o n . B u t t h e l a t el j 6 0 ' s a nd e a r l y 1 9 7 0' s saw t h e c h a r a c t e ra nd q u a l i t y o f t h e m o u n t a i n e x p e r i e n c e c ha ng e.And t h e m o de rn ca mp er b e a r s l i t t l e r es em -b l a n c e t o h i s f o r e f a t h e r . H e ' s w e l le q u i p p e d , h i g h l y m o b i l e , a nd l e a v e s m o re th a n

h i s f o o t p r i n t s .A ss um in g t h i s i s a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e g r ou p ,l e t me a s k y ou som e q u e s t i o n s . Do y o u t h r o wy o u r t r a s h i n t o y o u r n e i g h b o r ' s y a r d ? Doy ou c l u t t e r u p h i s f l o w e r be ds w i t h e mp tyb e e r can s an d p op b o t t l e s ? Do y ou l i t t e r h i sn i c e g r e e n la w n w i t h u se d t i s s u e s , d i s p o s a b l eb a b y d i a p e r s , n e w s pa p e rs , p a p e r b a g s , a n d s of o r t h ? Do y o u c h u ck r o c k s , b o t t l e s , an d in n e rtu be s i n t o h i s f i s h po nd ? I t i s m os t u n l i k e l yt h a t yo u d o . You d o u b t l e s s h av e r e s p e c t f o rh i s p r o p e r t y an d know t h a t h e w o u ld o b j e c t t os u c h b e h a v i o r . S i n c e y ou r e s p e c t y o u r n e i g h -b o r ' s p r o p e r t y and w o u ld n o t t h i n k o f l i t t e r i n g

i t w i t h j u n k , d o y o u h a v e t h e sam e r e s p e c t f o rp u b l i c and p r i v a t e l an d s i n t h e d i s t a n t m oun-t a i n s ? A p p a r e n t l y n o t e v e r y o ne d oe s, b e c a u se

R e c r e a t i o n A s s i s t a n t , B i g B ea r R an ge rD i s t r i c t , San B e r n a rd i n o N a t i o n a l F o r e s t,F o r e s t S e r v i c e , U .S . D e p a rt m e nt o f A g r i c u l t u r e ,F a w n s k i n , C a l i f o r n i a .

y e a r l y , l i k e a p la g u e o f l o c u s t s , c a r e l e sv i s i t o r s n o t o n l y l i t t e r and t r a m p le , b uw or se s t i l l , d e l i b e r a t e l y d e s t r o y and d et h os e v e ry n a t u r a l f e a t u r e s w h i c h t h e y j ot o s e e an d e n j o y .L e t u s c o n s i d e r som e o f t h e f o r m s at y pe s o f v a n da l i sm we i n t h e f i e l d s e e r

r i n g o n a s e a s o n -t o - se a s o n i f n o t a d a y - tb a s i s . And f o r p u rp o se s o f d i s c u s s i o n , t r y t o g i v e t hem m o t i v e an d m ea nin g.The f i r s t t y p e o f v an d al is m i s donet h e c o ur s e o f , o r i n o r d e r t o , a c q u i r e mo r p r o p e r t y . T h i s i n c lu d e s j u n k i n g o r sp i n g f o r r e s a l e , c o l l e c t i n g s o uv e n i rs , ap l a i n l o o t i n g .A se c o nd t y p e i s da ma ge d o ne a s a c

s c i o u s t a c t i c t o a d va n ce som e e nd . T he m in d m i g h t b e t o dra w a t t e n t i o n o r g a i n l i c i t y f o r a p a r t i c u l a r ca u s e .A t h i r d t y p e u se s p r o p e r t y d e s t r u c ta f o r m o f r e v e n g e b y so me on e w ho f e e l s uf a i r l y t r e a t e d . T h i s f o r m o f v a n da l is m m uch s a f e r t h a n p u n c h in g t h e r a n g e r i n tnose .A g r e a t a m ou nt o f d amage i s c a r r i e db y p re te en a ge c h i l d r e n as p a r t o f t h e i r a c t i v i t i e s . Many p a r e n t s re g a r d t h e camg r ou n d a s a p l a c e w h er e c h i l d r e n ca n p l aa h e a l t h y e n vi r o nm e n t . T he d a n ge r s o f t

c i t y a r e l e f t b eh in d ; n o t h in g c an h u r t tc h i l d r e n , and t h e r e i s n o t h i n g t h e c h i l dc an h u r t i n r e t u r n . The b u rd e ns o f p a r es u p e r v i s i o n c an b e t r a de d f o r q u i e t h o urp r i v a c y as c h i l d r e n r un o f f t o p l a y b y ts e l v e s . An t h e c h i l d r e n a r e a l o n e , m uchs o th a n i n t h e i r own n e i g h bo r h o o d s . T hes t r e e t i s r e p l a c e d b y s c r e e n i n g w oo ds . f u l n e i g hb o rs a r e ex ch an ge d f o r i n d i f f e rs t r a n g e rs d u t i f u l l y f o l l o w i n g t h e r u l e oi nv o lv e m e nt t h a t p r e v a i l s i n p u b l i c p l a cP r e a d o le s c e n t c h i l d r e n p ro b a b l y f e e l n o o f r e s p o n s i b i l i t y t ow ar d p a rk f a c i l i t i e st h e i r p r e d o m i n a n t ly u r b an u p b r i n g i n g p r ofe w l e s so n s i n be h a v i or a p p r o p r i a t e t o tn a t u r a l e n v i ro n m e n t . U nd er t h e s e c i r c u ms t a n c e s , i t i s a l m os t i n e v i t a b l e t h a t d aw i l l o c cu r , m o t i va t e d b y c u r i o s i t y and ob y t h e s p i r i t o f c o m p e t i t i o n .

T he f i n d i n g s o f a s t u d y d o ne by C aH end ee , a nd C l a r k i n 1 968 a t a P a c i f i c Nw e st d e v el op e d s i t e a r e t y p i c a l o f o u r mt a i n s . H er e i s t h e i r a c c ou n t :


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Two boys.. . approx imate ly 12 yearso f age , came t o t h e campground ac-companied by t h e i r mother and th reey ou ng er s i b l i n g s . T h e i r f a t h e r r e -mained i n t h e c i t y a nd v i s i t e d o n l yon weekends, a f a i r l y common arr ang e-ment. Upon a r r i v a l , th e boys imme-d i a t e l y l e f t t h e i r m ot he r, w ho wasq u i t e happ y t o b e r e l i e v e d o f e n t e r -t a i n i n g h e r two c h i l d r e n . D u ri n gth e f i r s t two d ay s i n camp, t h eb oy s w r o te o b s c e n i t i e s o n t h e w a l lo f one washroom, p lugged the t o i l e t si n a s ec on d, b r ok e b o t t l e s i n t h ebeach area, chopped down a tree,to re down e igh t me ta l s i gns on then a tu r e t r a i l , and became l o s t ov e r -n i gh t i n the woods. O ther thant h e i r o v e r n i g h t a dv en tu re , t h e i ra c t i v i t i e s w en t c o m p le te l y unob -serv ed by ot he r campers o r campgroundpers onnel. One shoul d no t conclude,however, th a t th ese boys were nat -u r a l l y m a l i c i o u s . When o ne o f t h epa rk range rs suggested they use par to f t h e i r f r e e t i m e p i c k i n g up t ra s hand l i t t e r , t he y p lu ng ed i n t o t h ea c t i v i t y w i t h e q ua l e nt hu si as m.

F or d e s t r u c t i v e p la y , t h e o l dadage, "blame t he paren t , no t thech i l d , " has more than a g r a i n o ft r u t h . Cons ide rab le money cou ld besaved each year i f parents assumedg r ea t e r r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r t h ea c t i v i t i e s o f t h e i r c h i l d re n w h i lei n pub1 i c p a rk s .Much damage can be a t t r i b u t e d t o un-

t h i n k i n g b u t w e l l - i n t e n t i o n e d a du l t s . F orexample, campers sometimes s ol ve d the per -s i s t e n t p ro bl em o f s c a r c i t y o f f i re w oo d byt h e f t f r o m o th e r c am pers o r b y c u t t i n g down anea rby t ree , w i t h no though t t o the conse rva -t i o n i m p l i c a t i o n s o f t h e a c t . N a i l s we re ham-mered i n t rees t o s to re camping equipment o f ft h e gr ou nd ; c a rs a nd t r a i l e r s we re d r i v e n o f fpa r k in g pads and i n t o vege ta ted a reas fo r thes ak e o f c on ve ni en ce ; f i r e s we re b u i l t o u t s i d ef i re p l ac es by persons unaware o f danger t ot i m b e r - d r y woods; t r a i l e r s a n i t a r y t an k s w er eempt ied i n du mp in g s t a t i o n s c l e a r l y m arke d' ' c lo s e d" o r " f u l l " as p eo p l e s o ug h t s h o r t - r u nso lu t i on s t o th e i r immedia te p rob lems. Thep o i n t i s t h a t b a s i c a l l y r e s po n s ib l e b u t i l l -i n fo rmed and tempo ra r i l y i ncon s ide r a te peop lec re a te many p rob lems i n pub l i c pa rks .

The f i n a l t y p e o f v a n da l i sm we w i l l co n-

Campbel l, Fr ede r ic k L . , John C . Hendee, andRoger Cl ar k. 1968. Law and or de r i n pub1 i cpa rk s. Par ks and Rec. 3 (12) 28-31, 51-55,i I Ius .

s id e r c an ' t be exp la ined any o the r way than tosa y i t i s m a l i c i o u s m i s c h i e f i n wh ic h p e rs on so r g ro up s o f p er so ns com bine h o s t i l i t y w i t h f u nTh is tyoe o f vanda l i sm i s encouraged to a deg reby our soc ie t y . Events such as Ha l loween, f r a -t e r n a l i n i t i a t i o n s , s em es te r b r e ak s , an d t h ea f te r ma th o f spo r t i ng even ts a r e examp les. Andthe same k ind o f me n t a l i t y accoun ts fo r what i sknown as " g r a f f i t i , " t h e c ru d e w r i t i n g o f names lo g an s , o b s c e n i t i e s , an d v u l g a r is m s o n f a c i l i -t i e s o r n a t ur a l f ea tu re s. G r a f f i t i d i f f e r s f roo the r forms o f vanda l ism i n tha t i t i s e x pe c te d( f o r examp le i n a pub1 i c res t room) . Lava to rya t t e n d a nt s a nd c a r e ta k e r s o f p u b l i c b u i l d i n g sr e g a r d th e c l e a n i n g o f w al I s as p a r t o f t h e i rd a i l y r o u t i n e.

Why must a pub1 i c t o i l e t c os t $28,300?Simply because th e la di es and gentlemen who usei t of te n ar e not " la d ie s" and "gent lemen." Youm i g ht sa y ' a c om fo r t a b l e o ne c a n b e b u i l t f o rh a l f t h e p r i c e . ' T r ue , b u t p ub l i c r e st r oo m smust be vanda l p roo f . We ar e fo rced t o bu i I dthem t o w i ths tand vanda l ism o f the mos t sense -less k ind , and i t cos ts more. Lava t o r i es a r eo f heavy cas t i r on , shower heads have tamper-p r oo f b o l t s , l i g h t i n g f i x t u r e s h av e d o ub le pr o-te c t i o n aga ins t b reakage , showers a re ac t i va te dby buttons because shower handles would beto r n o f f w i t h i n a few d ay s o r p e rh ap s b e fo r ethe bu i l d i ng cou ld be comple ted. The restroomi s made o f concre te b loc k cons t ru c t i on becausesome peop le have a ha b i t o f s t r i pp in g l umberf rom wooden st ru ct ur es .

Vandal ism i s co s t l y . But any f i gu re s a rg r o s s l y u n d e rs ta te d : t h e c o s t o f s e r v i c e s andb e n e f i t s f o re go ne u n t i l f a c i l i t i e s c an be madeo p e r a t io n a l a g ai n, o f m a i n t a i n i ng p a t r o l s ands e c u r i t y f o r c e s , a nd o f many o th e r i n t a n g i b l e sar e seldom inclu ded. For example, vandalst yp i c a l l y make pu b l i c phones unusab le. Bes idethe p rope r ty damage, the re i s a to l l i n humant ragedy he re . A young g i r l d ied when he r fa t hewas unab le t o summon a docto r f rom a pu b l ic t ephone damaged by vanda ls.

I ' d l i k e t o sh ar e w i t h you my f i r s t e x-pe r ience w i th vanda l i sm as a pu b l i c emp loyee,and maybe shed some l i g h t on who does t h i s s o ro f th ing . On the C leve land Na t iona l Fo res t ,a long the o l d Highway 80, E l l i s Wayside Rest ia d m i n i s t er e d as a d ay -u se f a c i l i t y b y t h e F o r eS e rv ic e . The s i t e i s on a h i l l s i d e c ov er ed w ib o u l d e rs f e s to o ne d w i t h g r a f f i t i . On a Sundayaf te rn oo n th e Ranger, who had made up h i s mindt o ca t ch someone, went the re and wa i t ed . I tw a s n ' t l o n g b e f o r e a c a r p u l l e d u p w i t h a manand woman in si de . The woman go t ou t , openedth e tru nk , removed pa in t and brush , and headedfo r t he rocks. A f te r she pa i n te d her name on.a l a rge bou lde r , the Ranger i n te r cep t ed he r a tthe car . She was very embarrassed, and r i q h t lso. She was a matu re, w e l l dressed, and w e l l


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educ ate d woman. Her husband, a Navy cap t a i nand sh i p ' s commander i n San Diego, s i t t i n g i nthe d r i v e r ' s s ea t , was a t a l oss f o r words . Whyhad she done i t? -- sh e had always had th e urgebu t never be fo re t he oppor tun i t y . Th is oneexper ience p o in ts up the d iver se backgrounds andages o f t he so-ca l led vandals.

What i s behind i t ? Many explanat ionshave been given. "A l l cr i me i s up, every-wher e, and t h i s i s j u s t p a r t o f i t , " havesa id some au th or i t ie s. Vandal ism and Vio-lence3, a speci a l rep or t developed by thes t a f f o f Educa t ion U.S.A., po in t s t o improperi n s t r u c t i o n and a d u l t b e h av i or as co n t r i b u t i n gfac to r s : "The Boston Tea Par t y i s o f t e n he ldup t o s t ud e nt s as a ' p a t r i o t i c a c t , ' a s o r to f punishm ent f o r t h e B r i t i s h i n r e t a l i a t i o nf o r an onerous tea t ax. Yet what happened waspure vandal ism perpetrated by grown men."

When tak en to get her , th e var iou s reasonsg i ve n seem t o i n d i ca t e t h a t va n da li sm i s o f t e na p r o t e s t . S t a n f or d Un i ve r s i t y P r o f esso rP h i l i p G. zimbardo4 expla ins: "Vandal ism i sr e b e l 1 io n wi t h a cause." The cause, he says,i s " so c i a l i n d i f f e r e n ce , a p at hy , t h e l o ss o fcommunity, neighborhood and fa mi ly values."I t i s t r u e t h a t p r a c t i c a l l y ev ery whe re youngones see loss o f va lues- - l y in g , chea t ing , andhy po cr is y ar e rampant, even among wo rld 1eaders.T h i s b re ed s h o s t i l i t y i n y ou ng st er s a g a in s t"t he es ta bl ishment" and vandal ism i s one wayt h ey ve n t t h e i r f e e l i n g s .

I n d i f f e r e n t , u n ca ri n g p a r en t s a r e p er -haps the main cause o f vandal ism. And th i sa b d i c a t i o n o f r e s p o n s i b i l i t y by pa r en t s i snoted i n p r ac t i c a l l y every communi ty. As ar e s u l t , r i c h , p oo r, m i d d l e c l a ss , a nd b o t hb lac k and wh i t e youngste rs a re a l l deep lyinvo lve d i n vandal ism. A study o f more than3100 teenagers from "ever y majo r segment o ft h e I l l i n o i s a d ol e sce nt p o p ul a t i on " r e ve a le dth at near ly one i n every th ree had engaged i np r o p e r t y d e s t r u c t i o n !

Wanton dest ruc t io n by vandals i s hur t i ngproper t y owners, i nc reas ing t he cos t o f govern -ment, pushing up taxes and ins urance rate s, anda d di n g h un dr ed s o f m i l l i o n s o f d o l l a r s t o t h eh igh cos t o f l i v i n g in Ameri ca . However, t o

Well s, Elmer. 1971. Vandalism and vi ol en ce :I n n o va t i ve s t r a t e g i e s r ed uce co s t t o sch oo ls .Educ atio n U.S.A. Spec ial Report. 59 p. Na tl .Sch. Publ . Rel. Assoc., Washing ton, D.C.

Z imbardo , Ph i l i p G. 1973. A f i e l d ex-per iment i n autoshaping. I n Vandalism.P. 85-90, i l l u s . C o l in ward, ed. Van Nostra ndRe in ho ld Co., New York .

h i gh l i gh t the law enforcement problems--co ns i de r t h e d e s t r u c t i o n o f mu n i c i pa l p r o pi n New York, where th er e were more tha n 10compla in ts o f vandal ism but on ly 3216 ar rewere made. Many of fende rs ge t o f f w i t h jua l i g h t repr imand.

The cent ra l reason f o r nonenforcementone t hat appl ies t o vandal ism as a whole- -t h e f a c t t h a t t h i s i s o ne o f t h e most sa f eanonymous of of fen ses . There i s no oersonco mp la i n t , n o r any p r o p e r t y t o ca r r y o r d ipose of.

Consequent ly, det ec t i on ra te s ar e lowmost damage i s no t thought wor th bo th er ingbout . A l t hough the t o t a l cos t might be cos i d e ra b l e , each i n d i v i d u a l a c t i s t o o t r i vto respond t o i n any other way t han by igni t .

Employees complain, " I do n' t get i t.gi ve them something f r e e and they de str oyA fe el in g o f hopelessness has become geneHere 's a ty p i ca l f ee l i ng expressed by a ret i on worke r a f t e r rev iewing f ou r pages o fno tes on re pa i r s needed i n D i s t r i c t deve los i t e s . " I t ' s n o th i ng t o g e t h y s t e r i c a l aI t ' s a housekeeping prob lem, a pa r t o f map u b l i c f a c i l i t i e s . One m in ut e i t upsets yt he n e xt mi nu te y ou t h i n k ' t h a t ' s l i f e . ' "

We've looked a t a number o f examples vandalism. Maybe we shou ld t r y t o drawsome pre l im ina ry conc lusions as one might who works w i t h t he p roblem i n t he f i e ld .

1 . The pr ope rt y destro yed i s much ml i k e l y t o 'be p u b l i c l y t ha n p r i va t e l y ownedTh is i s due . no t j us t t o t he g rea te r opport u n i t i e s t o a t t a c k p u b l i c p ro p er t y, b u t at o i t s anonymous natu re and symbol ic valu eThe ta rge t i s depersona l i zed and no t ea s ii d e n t i f i e d w i t h t h e i de a " i t belongs t o th

2 . Some pa t t e r n ing i n t he p hys ica lc h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e t a r g e t i s a l s o a ppthe p roper t y t ends t o be de re l i c t , i ncompo r badly kept . Again such prop er ty mightseen as f a i r game and not r ea l ly be long inganybody.

3. Areas o f h ig h vandal ism can be dt i n g ui s h e d b y t h e i r s o c i a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c sS i t e s c l o se i n and w i t h i n e asy acce ss t olower income groups rec eiv e more than t h eshare o f vandalism.

4. S tu di es o f t he s o c i a l c h a r a c t e r io f t h e o f f e n d e r a r e i mp o r t a n t t o co u n t e r ath e image o f homogeneity whi ch assumes thistence of someth ing l i k e a "vandal type" sp o n s ib l e f o r a l l so r t s o f va nd al ism. C lno such persona l i t y t ype ex i s t s .


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5. Groups o f young peop le i n l a te ado les -cence, e n joy ing the r e l a t i v e l y inexpens ive bene-f i t s o f p u b l i c f a c i l i t i e s , a r e prone t o p a r t i c i -pa te i n ma l i c io us , appar ent l y senseless vanda l -I sm.

How can t h i s r i s i n g t i d e o f v an da li sm bestemmed? What is needed? Many e f f o r t s a r ebe i ng made t o r ev e r se t he t i de . D i f . f i c u l t -t o- b re ak p l a s t i c i s r e p l a ci n g gl a ss i n w in -dows. Hard - f i n i sh epoxy- res in pa i n ts th a tr e s i s t ma rki ng s w i t h f e l t - t i p p ens, l i p s t i c k ,and c ray ons a re be i ng used on i n t e r i o r w a l l s .New b u i l d i n g s a r e b e i n g b u i l t l i k e f o r tr e s s es ,w i t h f ew , i f any, e xt e r io r windows. Alarms,f ences, n i gh t l i g h t i ng - - a l l o f t hes e measuresand more have been employed. Yet vandal ismIncreases.

I n t h e f i n a l a n a l y si s p a re nt s mustbe paren ts . They cannot s lough theJob on to someone el se . And they ver yd e f i n i t e l y do have an o b l i g a t i o n t o...d i s c i p l i n e .... I t s c h i e f v al ue1 es i n s t r eng t hen i ng t he ( pe rs ona l -i t y ) so tha t t he ado lescent can dea l

adequately and independent ly w i thh i s i n ne r d r i v e s a nd w i t h o u t e rp r es su re s. I t p r ev e nt s t h e c h i l df rom becoming a v i c t im o f anarch ici mpul ses, na r c i s s i s t i c i ndu l gence ,and a fa lse sense of omnipotence.The paren t must employ t h i s d i s -c i p l i n e i n a manner t h a t w i l l l ea dt o s e l f d i s c ip l i n e ."I w oul d l i k e t o c oncl ude by r ead i ng f r oman a r t i c l e i n t he San Be rna rd i no Sun, t i t l e d -'Vanda l ism may no t be a l l bad." Federa lo f f i c i a l s h er e a r e p ok in g h ol e s i n t h e t h eo ryth at vandal ism i s a l l bad. They have foundt h a t b u l l e t - r i d d l e d s ig ns a r e s t o l e n l e sso f t e n t han unsc a rred ones. A f t e r l os i ng f ou ro r f i v e b rand new o f f - roa d s igns i n as manymonths, Bureau o f Land Management ra ng er sdeci ded ea r l y t h i s y ear t o punch ho les i n t hes i gns be f o re i n s t a l l a t i on . "The s i gns w i t hho les ju s t d on ' t l ook as good t o th ieve s whowant them fo r t he i r wa l l a t home. Before ho les ,the sign s l as te d about 10 days, s i nce becoming

ho ley they 've s tayed up t o t h re e months. "

Vandalism on the Santa Lucia District

The s t a f f o f t h e San ta L u c ia D i s t r i c t o ft he Los Padres N a t i ona l F o res t w oul d l i k e t ot h i n k t h a t t h i s D i s t r i c t has a b e t t e r f o r e s tus e r t han some of t he o t he r D i s t r i c t s o f F o res t s.Our vandal ism problem has been smal l i n the pa st ,b u t i t i s i n c r e a s i n g e v e n t h o u g h o u r D i s t r i c t i sq u i t e i s o l a t e d f ro m l a r g e p o p u l a t i o n c e nt e rs .The nea res t and l ar ge st towns ar e San Lu is Obispoand Sant a M ari a , bu t bo t h a re r e l a t i v e l y s m a ll .Three Sta te h ighways and orie i nt er s t at e h ighwayp r o v i d e 1 m i t e d a cc es s t o t h e D i s t r i c t .

D e s p it e g e n e r a l l y a v er ag e- ty pe v i s i t o r s , af av o rab l e l oc a t i on , and l i m i t ed acc es s, ou r t o t a lcosts due t o vandal ism came t o $4,213 du r i ng1975. L i t t e r and t r ash p ick -up cos ts amountedt o $18,700. The predominant types o f vandal ismth a t we have exper ienced are: ( l , ) s h o o t i n g ,(2 ) chopp ing , (3) g r a f f i t i , and (3 ) s te a l in g . Theex t en t t o w h ic h pub l i c f a c i l i t i e s c an be damaged

Recrea t ion Technic i an, Santa Luc ia RangerD is t r i c t , Los Padres Nat iona l Fores t , Fores tServ ice , U.S. Department o f Ag r i cu l t ur e, SantaM ar i a , C a l i f o rn i a .

John ~ l a k e l

i s ev i den t . R i f l e s , s hot guns , and pe l l e t gunshav e been used t o r i d d l e t o i l e t - w a l l s , garbagecans, s ign s, and even tree s. People wi th ou t guhave used rocks, s t i c ks , axes, la rg e hammers, aeven v eh i c l es t o des t r oy bu i l d i ngs , t ab l es , s i gnand even gat es made o f heavy meta l pip e. Peoplhave dumped l i t t e r and garbage on the ground,s to le n tab les , and used a l l t ypes o f wooden fa ci t i e s fo r f i rewood. Obv ious ly , wood s t ru c tur esar e e as i l y damaged, bu t we have al so learned t hf i b e r g l a s s i s a po or m a t e r i a l f o r c o n s t r u c t i n gcampground f ixtures.

The fo l l ow in g measures may he lp t o d isc ourage vanda l i sm i n w i ld lan d areas :1. Reward persons su pp ly in g in fo rm at i onlead in g t o the apprehension and con v ic t ion o fpersons commit t ing vandalous acts , by g i v i ng thethe f ines imposed aga ins t t he g u i l t y persons -2. R eq ui re f o r e s t v i s i t o r s t o r e g i s t e r bef o r e e n t e r i n g r e c r e at i o n s i t e s .3. Des ignate shoot i ng areas fo r people t ouse. Coopera t ion w i th spor tmen 's c lubs m ight


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c o n t r i b u t e t o s u c ce s sf u l e s ta b li s hm e nt o f s ho ot -I ng areas.

4. Pe rm i t sen io r c i t i z en s f re e use o f camp-s i t e s i n r e t u r n f o r w a t c h in g t h e c ampground andma i n ta in in g the a rea . Fu l l - t im e occupancy by re -spo nsi b le persons may d iscour age vanda lous ac ts .

5. E s t a b l i s h p o s i t i o n s f o r t h e h an di ca pp edand t h e s e n i o r c i t i z e n t o a c t as a co m bi n at i on

ca r e ta ke r - reg i s t r a r f o r campgrounds.6. Use V i s i t o r I n f o r m a t i o n Se r v i c e t

n i qu e s t h r ou g h p u b l i c p r e s e n ta t i o n s t o d i sage vandalism.

7 . U t i l i z e the mass media (TV, ra d i onewspapers) t o d i ssemina te i n fo rma t ion t o pu b l ic c oncern i ng vanda l ism and t o campaiga g a i n s t i t .

Vandalism on th e Mt. Pinos DistrictJ a m e s ~ u n t e r l

The M t . P i no s Ranger D i s t r i c t i s l o c a te d5 m i le s west o f In te rs ta te H ighway 5, approx-i m a te l y 1 h ou r d r i v i n g t i m e f r om t h e f r i n g e o fth e Los Ange les me tr opo l i ta n area. TheD i s t r i c t i n c l u d e s n e a r l y 5 00,000 a c re s o f l a n dwhich has extremes i n topography, as we l l asweather . The e l ev at io n ranges f rom 3000 fe e tt o 8 831 f e e t a t M t . P i no s , t h e h i g h e s t p e a k o nth e Los Padres Nat ion al Fores t. Temperaturesrange f rom be low f ree z in g i n the w i n t e r mon thst o 100 degrees and above du ri ng th e dr y summermonths.

B ec aus e o f i t s h i g h e l e v a t i o n , t h e ar eabecomes a snow-bunny haven du ri ng t he wi nt ermon ths. Thousands o f v i s i t o r s f rom the LosAnge les b as i n f lo c k t o the snow-covered s lopes.Use by 10 ,000 t o 20 ,000 v i s i t o r s du r ing aw i n t e r weekend has a tremendous i mpact one x i s t i n g r e c r ea t i o n f a c i l i t i e s . For ex-amp le , ga rbage -can l i d s a r e used reg u la r l y t os l i de on , and garbage cans a re s t o le n o rdamaged beyond re pa ir . Most im por ta nt , tonso f l i t t e r a r e l e f t on t h e sl op es t o be c le ane dup b y D i s t r i c t p e rs o nn e l. I n 1975, u se a t t r i b -u ted t o snow-play was 53,100 v i s i t o r days,and t h e c o s t o f l i t t e r c l e a nu p was $ 30 ,0 00 .Vandal ism cos ts were $14,430; the cost s o f t hec l ose l y re la t ed to t a l l aw en fo rcemen t needswer e $1 1,382.

Another ma jor d i spe rsed rec rea t i on ac t i v -i t y i s o f f r o a d m o t o rc y c l e us e. L a s t y ea r t h i sa c t i v i t y ac co un te d f o r 2 50,000 v i s i t o r da ys .On sp ec ia l occasions , such as pe rm it te d "en-duro" eve nts , some 2000 t o 3000 people are

Recrea t i on Techn ic ian , M t . Pi no s D i s t r i c t ,Los Padres Nat iona l For est , For est Serv ice ,U.S. Depar tmen t o f Ag r i cu l tu re , F raz ie r Pa rk ,C a l i f o r n i a .

a t t r a c te d . F o r t u n a te l y , t h e o r g a n i z e r so f t h es e e ve n ts a r e r e q u i r e d t o p r o v i d e ne ss ar y s a n i t a t i o n f a c i l i t i e s , as w e l l a s moval o f r e f u s e. T he m a j o r i t y o f o f f r o a dve h i c l e use, however , i s no t by o rgan izedgroups. I t i s t h e u n a f f i l i a t e d u s e r s whor e s p on s i b le f o r t h e c o n s id e r a bl e l i t t e r avandal i sm p roblems o f the D is t r i c t . Be tw20 and 30 cubic y ards o f tr as h are removefrom Ball inger Campground every week.

Considerable damage can be done by w he el - and f o u r - w h e e l - d r i v e v e h i c l e s d u r i nthe we t pe r iods o f the yea r . No de te rm i nhas been made, a t t h i s t ime, o f whether tdamage i s ina dver ten t o r caused by thosee n t h us i a s t s who w an t t o p i t t h e i r d r i v i n gs k i l l s a g a i n s t t h e e le me nt s. The r u t t e droads and scored h i l l s i d e s soon become wac o l l e c t i o n t ro ug hs t h a t a c c e l e r a t e s o i l es ion . The impac t o f these veh ic l es can bjudged by the fac t tha t t h e i r owners ac -c ou nted f o r 104,358 v i s i t o r d ays o f u s e i1975.

Acts o f neg l igence and vandal ism arew h ol l y a t t r i b u t a b l e t o o f f r o a d v e h i c l e usCampers a l so do t he i r sha re o f de s t r uc t i ons uc h as t i p p i n g o v er t o i l e t b u i l d i n g s , b ri n g s t o v e t op s, b u i l d i n g f i r e r i n g s , anddes t roy i ng campground s igns . A t o t a l o f250,300 v i s i t o r days were a t t r i b u t ed t o cing i n 1975.

I n recen t yea rs we have no t i ced a rainc rease i n p romiscuous shoo t i ng . A l l obbecome ta rg et s f o r shooter s. Garbage cancampground e nt r a n c e s i g n s , v i s i t o r r e g i s tt i o n s ig n s, f i r e p l a c e chi mn ey s, and t o i l edoors and vents have to be rep lace d becaus h o o t in g . Some v i s i t o r s ev en t e s t t h e i r i n g a b i l i t y by f e l l i n g a t r e e b y s uc c es s


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sho ts a t the t runk . These a re pu re wan ton ac t s share o f vandal ism. I hope th a t we can ga ino f d e s t ru c t i on . some in s ig h t on th i s se r ious p rob lem so tha tl a w - ab i d i ng c i t i ze n s ca n a g a in en j o y t h e i rAs you can see, we have had our undue ou tdoo r rec r ea t i on expe r ience .

Vandalism in Dese rt Area sMike Wintchl

The s t o r y o f v a nd al is m i n t h e C a l i f o r n i a t h i n k r e l a t e d i r e c t l y t o t h e a t t i t u d e de vel ope dd e se r t i s u n do u bte dl y s i m i l a r t o many o th e r s by each i nd iv id ua l member o f the American out -th a t m igh t be t o ld by Federa l , S ta t e and loca l door - rec reat ion-seeking pub1 ic- - " to vandal iz eagencies charged wi t h managing outdoor recrea- o r n o t t o va nd al i ze . "t i o n l an ds and f a c i l i t i e s . The f i r s t t o o k p l a ce l e ss t h a n 100 m i l e sIn t h e d e se r t , r e p r e se n ta t i ve s o f t h e from downtown San Diego, adja cent t o gi an tAmeri can pub l i c i n search o f rec r ea t i on have Anza-Borrego St at e Desert Park, where th el e f t t h e i r mark i n t h e f or m o f " g r a f f i t i " on Bureau o f Land Management has developed th re erocks , t rees , p i cn i c tab l es , outhouses , s igns , l o v e l y l i t t l e p r i m i t i v e campgrounds. They a r eand h i s t o r i c a l s t ruc tu r es . They have b lown a va i l a b l e and w e l l u se d b y t h o se who v i s i t t h eup ou thouses a t deve loped bu t p r im i t i v e camp- Lar k Canyon-McCai n Val l e y are a. Al though theying a reas , removed o r m u t i l a ted s ign s and can be reached on l y by d i r t r oads , they a rem ar ke rs , t o r n down h i s t o r i c s t r u c t u r e s f o r u se re ad i l y access ib le , mos t o f th e t ime , t o Dad,as f i rewoo d, and done about eve ry th ing e ls e Mom, and t he k id s i n th e fami l y "f l i v ve r . "i n between . Re ce nt ly , a BLM mai nten ance man, makingThey have a l so p lanned and pa r t ic ip at ed o ne o f h i s t h re e- ti me s- a- we ek t r i p s i n t o t h ei n p r o j e c t s t o remove " g r a f f i t i " f r om can- area, encountered, f rom a d is t ance , a group o fyon wa l l s , c lean up ma jo r rec r ea t i on a reas , ' r u f f i a n s " r a i s i n g c a i n i n McCain V a l l e y . F ea r-remove hundreds o f tons o f t ras h , re s t o re i n g f o r h i s own sa fe t y and t h e sa fe t y o f t h eh i s t o r i c a l o b j e c t s , c o n s t r u c t f en ce s ar ou nd o th e r g ood f o l k cam pin g i n t h e ar e a, h e ca l l e dabandoned mine sha f t s , c lea n up t r as h around on the l oc a l depu ty t o ven tu re up the 10 o r soa sm a ll h i s t o r i c a l s i t e , and ab ou t e v er y - mi le s o f d i r t r oad and r es t o re peace and t r an -t h i n g e l se i n be tw ee n. q u i l i t y . A r r i v i n g on t h e scene i n h i s w e l l -equ ipped pa tr o l car , the deputy encountered theThe vandal ism st or y inc ludes th e ex- ' r u f f i a n s " a t c l o se r a n ge and sug ge sted t h e ypendi t u r e o f pub1 i c monies: th e $10,000 t o mind th e i r manners and keep th e i r motorcyc lesrep l ace the b lown up outhouse, th e $6,500 on th e roads and a t a re spe ct abl e speed. Thet o r ep l a c e p i c n i c t a b l es , r e p a i r a l a r g e g roup ag reed t o comply so th e depu ty l e f t .i n t e r p r e t i v e s i g n and r e p a i r a n ot h er o u t - However, o n h i s n e x t t r i p i n t o t h e ar e a, t h ehouse- -a l l vanda l i zed i n one weekend o f use fo l l ow in g a f ternoon, th e maintenance man en-a t a popu la r developed camping area--and coun ter ed "mayhem" in cl ud in g a h ea v i ly damagedth e ines t im able damage t o our her i t age when outhouse.h i s t o r i c a l o b j e c t s and b u i l d i n g s a r e t o r ndown and used f o r f i rew ood. The st or y The second occur red i n the Impe r ia l Sanda l s o i n c l ud e s t h e sa v i n g o f p u b l i c expe nd - Dunes, a vas t sea of sand some 40 mi le s lo ngi t u r e s i n l a b o r c o s t s f o r t h e w or k done by and 3 t o 5 m i les wide , wh ich has s t i mu la ted t hevo l u n te e r s . deve lopment o f a un ique form o f outdoor recrea-t i on . Developed i n sou the rn Ca l i fo rn ia , "dune-B ut t h i s t r a d i t i o n a l s t o r y o f v an da li sm i n g" w i t h o f f r o a d ve h i c l e s i s now p o p ul a r i ni s n o t t h e one I w ou ld l i k e t o t e l l t od ay . much o f th e Southwest.Le t me sha re w i t h you two in c ide n ts th a t I Th i s pop u lar area lo cat ed about 45 minuteseas t o f E l Cent re, may be v i s i t ed by up t oCh ie f Ranger, Bureau of Land Management, 50,000 peop le on a s i n g l e weekend. The dune-U.S. Depar tmen t o f the In t e r i o r , R ive rs id e , buggy en t hu s ia s t, w i t h h i s u l t r a l i g h t , o f f r o a dC a l i f o r n i a . ve h i c l e , can p e n e t r a te t h i s e n t i r e se a o f san d,l


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and f o r y ea rs , t he whole dune a rea was a v a i l ab let o him. Then, on November 1 , 1973 , t h e BLM im-p lemented a veh ic le management p la n th a t se ta p a r t a p o r t i o n o f t h e Dunes as a n a t u r a l r e -search area and pos ted i t as c l o se d t o a l lo f f r o a d v e h i c l e use.

W i t h no a u t h o r i t y t o e n f o r c e t h i s c l o s ur e ,t he B u reau e le c t ed , o r was f o r c ed , t o t ak e an'ambassador o f good w i l l " approach and a t temp tt o i n f o r m and e d uc a te v i s i t o r s s o as t o g a i nt h e i r vo lu n ta ry compl iance. The newly - fo rmedrange r f o r c e began t he t as k o f mee t i ng andg re e t i n g t he peop le , i n f o rm ing t hem o f why t hena t u r a l r es ea rc h a rea had been s e t as ide ,as s i s t i n g i n s ea rc h and res c ue , p rov id i ng emer-g en cy m e d ic a l f i r s t - a i d , and a s s i s t i n g t h es t u c k o r s t r a n de d .

A dunebuggy was obt a in ed t o a l l ow th eRanger access to th e va s t sea o f sand, no t th ef a s t e s t buggy on t he s lopes , bu t a un ique v e-h i c l e de si gned t o c a rr y l i t t e r s , f i r s t - a i dequ ipment , and r angers t r a i ne d t o as s i s tt hos e in need. An access road i s be i ng bu i l ta long the th r esh o l d o f th e Dunes and campingf a c i l i t i e s a re b e in g d ev el op ed . L a st f a l la temporary Ranger S t a t io n was erec te d t op r o v i d e a f o c a l p o i n t f o r BLM i n f l u e n c e i n t h e

Dunes.S i g n i f i c a n t l y , when t h e s i g n s w er e

pos ted around th e c losed area, about 95 w er e v a n d a li z e d t h e f i r s t week. T od ay , wthe same amount of ranger p a t r o l and th ea u t h o r i t y , t h i s s i g n v an d a li s m has be e n duced by over 95 pe rce nt . When th e campf a c i l i t i e s we re f i r s t d ev el op ed , a l a r g erec ept ac l e d isappeared. Today i t seems t h a t t h a t w i l l hap pen a g a in .

The t empora r y Range r S t a t i o n , r ea lho use t r a i l e r i n d i s g u i s e , was p u t i n p li n ea r l y S ep tember 1975. Th i s s t a t i on , mi le s f rom any permanent res idence , i s nmanned a t a l l on weekday s and on l y pa r t t im e on most weekends. Furth ermor e, i tp ro t ec t ed by a 10 - f oo t h ig h c y c lone f enctoday no t even a window has been bro ken .

Could i t be t h a t f o r t h e i n d i v i d u au s e r ' s , " t o v a n d a l i z e o r n o t t o va n d al i zed i r e c t l y a s so c ia t ed w i t h t h e i n d i v i d u a l e r ' s a t t i t u d e - - o r m ore i m p o r t a n t l y , t h e ment g ro up 's a t t i t u d e ~ t h a t h e y a r e t o t h ou g ht o f f i r s t and f o re m o st , a s a s o u rp u b l i c s e r v i c e a nd a s s i s t a n c e ?

Vandal ism in the Channel Is lands Nat ional M onu me ntRonald W. S u t t o n l

The deg ree o f i s o l a t i o n en joy ed by ChannelI s la nds Na t i on a l Monument wou ld seem t o be ana tu ra l de te r re nt t o vanda l ism. The Monumentc o n s i s t s o f t h e t wo s m a l l e s t o f t h e e i g h t C ha nn elI s l a n d s o f f t h e s o u t he r n C a l i f o r n i a c o a s t- -Anacapa and Santa Barba ra Is la nds . Anacapa i sabout 10 mi le s f rom t he main land, Santa Barbaraabout 40 mi le s. The is la nd s can be reached byp r i v a t e o r c om m er ic al b o a t , b u t t h e r e a r e noa i r c r a f t l an di n g f a c i l i t i e s f o r pu b l i c use.Anacapa Is la nd i s manned year-r ound and a ran geri s on Santa Barbara I s l an d dur in g th e summer.

The re hav e been re po r t s o f v anda l is mprob lems f r om t he "o l d hands " d u r i ng p rev iouss easons. I n pa r t i c u l a r , on S ant a B a rba ra I s l and ,peop le we re s h oo t i ng a t t he i s l and and oc cas ion -a l l y a t t h e r a ng e r s t a t i o n . P eo p le came a s ho r eand dug up p l an ts f o r t h e i r home gardens. They

Seasonal Park Tec hni c ia n, Channel Is lan dsNa t io na l Monument, Na t io na l Park Serv i ce , U.S.D ep ar tm en t o f t h e I n t e r i o r , V e n t u r a , C a l i f o r n i a .

i n v e s t i g a t e d t h e sea l i o n r o o k e r i e s , c a us tampedes wh ic h k i l l e d pups t oo s ma l l t oou t o f th e way . There was bad fe e l in g bthe commercia l f i sher men and the Park SeP eop le c rea t ed new t r a i l s wh i ch c aused ea nd w er e u n s i g h t l y . We f e l t t h a t we c o uw i t h these prob lems throug h law enforcemn e ce s sa r y, b u t we a l s o f e l t t h a t we c o u lv en t many o f them w i t h a s t r on g pe rs ona lp rog ram bet ween t he r ange rs and t he v i s ip u b l i c - - p r o t e c t i o n v i a i n t e r p r e t a t i o n .

The t heo ry beh ind t h i s p rogram i s The p a r k v i s i t o r i s i n t h e p a rk b ec au se wan ts t o be t he re , and he l ook s f o rwa rd en j oya b le exper ience. However , th i s samt o r b r i n g s w i t h h i m an u rb an o u t l o o k t o de rnes s env ir onmen t. Th i s ou t l oo k i s nod u c i v e t o a n u n de r s t an d i n g o f t h i s new (enviro nmen t , and what he does no t undersmay des t roy . (Cons ider a two-year -o ld cw i t h an e l e c t r i c t r a i n . He l o v e s t h e nebu t does not unders tand i t and i t i s s oob rok en . He may s t i l l t h i n k i t i s a g r e a


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b u t i t s o r i g i n a l p u rp os e i s d es t ro y ed and i t sv a l ue f o r o t he r s i s gone.) I f we can createsome unde r s tand i ng by t he v i s i t o r o f h i s newp a r k e nv ir on me nt , h e w i l l n o t be so l i k e l y t odes t r oy i t .We at tem pt ed t h i s by t a l k i n g t o peop le ,morning, noon, and n i ght . We v i s i t e d them ont h e i r boa ts and passed ou t l i t t e r bags and i n -

form at io n sheets . We in v i te d them ashore. Weta lk ed about reg u la t ions and the reasons f o rthe r eg u l a t ons --how the reg u la t ions were de-s igned to pr ot ec t them and th e i r park . Weta lk ed t o commercia l f ishermen about how th i swas t h e i r par k and what the Park Serv ic e wasdoing there. We passed out maps o f the i s -land and suggested th ing s t o do based on themakeup o f in d i v i du al groups. We he ld impromp-t u natu re walks , o f t e n several a day. iVe se tup d i s p l ay s o f t h i ngs f o r peop l e t o t ouc h andwonder about . We t r i e d t o c on t ac t ev e r y i nd i -v i du al who came w i t h i n the park boundary. Wegave ca mpf ir e programs t o campers, no t onna t u r a l h i s t o r y s ub j ec t s , bu t on how t o t ak ec a r e o f a t i n y , f r a g i l e , one s qua r e- m il e i s -l a n d ~ t h e i r s l an d . Above a l l , we t a lk e d,ta l ked , t a l ked- - to peop le .

What were the r es ul ts of t h i s program?I t i s d i f f i c u l t t o say f o r sur e. Perhapsth e problems had been over stat ed. Perhapsthe fa c t t ha t t h e i s la nd rangers had a sma l lp a t r o l b o a t f o r t h e f i r s t t i me l es se ne d someo f t h e pr ob le ms t h a t e x i s t e d i n t he p as t , b u tthese fa c t s remain: we on ly had th ree f i rea rmv i o l a t i o ns a l l summer. F i v e peop l e ou t o fov e r f i v e t hous and d i s t u r bed t he s ea 1 i onrooker i es . Only about 200 yards of new t r a i l sappeared. Rela t ion s wi th commerc ial f is he r-men were good o r exc el le nt . Very few peoplea t tempted t o remove souven i rs f rom the i s -land. No pl an ts were taken t o home gardens.The most i n t e r es t i n g f ac t , how ev er , i s t ha t a l lt he v i o l a t i on s t ha t d i d oc c u r w er e c om mi tt edby people we had not had a chance t o t a l k to ,

Th is p rogram was c ar r i ed ou t by on ly twopeop le. Admi t t ed l y , we had the idea l con d i t i o no f c on t r o l ed access t o a use a rea . (Therei s on l y one p l ac e t o l and on t he i s l and andon ly one good anchorage, so we were abl e t og e t t o t he v i s i t o r s . ) I be1 i ev e t h i s k i ndo f p rogram would be use fu l i n o ther a reas wherethe access i s less con t ro l l ed . The impor tan tt h i n gs a r e t o g i v e t h e v i s i t o r an u nd er st an di ngo f t he a rea and o f t he new env ironment i n wh ichhe f i nds h i m s e l f and t o p r ov i de h im w i t h t hereasons beh ind the reg u la t ion s wh ich a r e de-s i gned t o p r o t ec t h i m and &ou t doo r r e -c r ea t i on a r ea . I b e l i e v e t h i s i s t h e mostimpo rtan t jo b th e "man on t he ground" can do,and i t i s h i s j o b - - i t c a n 't b e l e f t t o s ig nsand handouts.

Having been the "man on the ground1' f o r

t h e p a s t f i v e y ea rs , I wo ul d l i k e t o sh a resome o f my obse rvat ion s on the sub je ct o fvandal ism. Ac tua l ly , most o f what fo l l owsare quest ions more than observat ions--ques-t i o n s f o r w h i ch I do n ' t p re tend t o have an-swers.Why i s i t t ha t a we l l -ma in ta ined rec rea-t i o n a l f a c i l i t y seems t o be more o r l e s s f r e e

o f vandal ism? I have seen areas tha t were i ngood con d i t i on s tay tha t way over long per iodso f t im e. A t t he f i r s t s i gn o f v andal is m, how-ev er , a l m os t t o t a l des t r uc t i on f ol l ow ed i n av er y s h o r t - p e r i o d o f t im e . Can a l i t t l e c l ea n -ing compound and e lbow grease a t the f i r s t s i gno f res troom a r t p reven t a repa in t in g job a fewmonths la te r? Would a b lowtorch , used t o pro-duce some a r t i f i c u a l e x f o l i a t i o n o f t h e r o ckunder the f i r s t "John loves Mary, " prevent ascenic area f rom becoming an outdoor tablo idc r ea ted i n s p ray pa i n t ? I th in k so. A goodmaintenance program th at takes care of thel i t t l e t h ings be fo re they become majo r prob-lems w i l l so lv e some of our vandal ism problems.How many times has the reader seen postedr egu l a t i ons t ha t w er e s y s t em a t i c a l l y i gno r edby r e c r e a t i o n a l v i s i t o r s & enforcement per-sonnel? I have seen i t - - th ank God, no t of t en.Does t h i s s i t u a t i o n l ead t o a l ow e r i ng o ft he v al u e o f a l l r e g u la t i o ns i n t h e m in d o fthe v i s i t o r ? Does th i s obv ious con tempt f o rthe posted reg ula t io n lead t o vandal ism?b e l i e v e t h a t i f we post a r eg ul at io n we shoulden f o r c e i t , o r i n t e r p r e t i t t o ga in compl iance,o r t a k e i t down--we s ho uld never ign ore i t .I r e c a l l a s i t u a t i o n i n w h ic h we w er e j u s taski ng fo r vandal ism. We had a pump house,

somewhat removed fro m th e camoground, th a t hadf r os t ed r e i nfo rce d g lass windows. The windowswere co nst an t ly being broken. This vandal ismhad a pa t t e r n ; one t ha t I d i dn ' t see. F i r s ta sma l l ho le wou ld be b roken i n one o f t hewindows, presumab ly so someone co ul d seewhat was ins i de. (There was noth ing in s i deexcept an e l e c t r i c pump.) Then, i n a fewdays a l l o f the windows would be broken andwe would have t o re pl ace them, always wi t hf ros ted , re i n fo r ced g lass . Cou ldn ' t we haveput i n one pane o f c lea r g lass and avo idedt he w ho le p r obl em by a f f o r d i ng t he o r i g i na lc u r i ou s v i s i t o r h i s l oo k i ns i d e ? A re t h e r eo the r s i t u a t ion s tha t wou ld lend themselvest o t h i s k i n d o f s o l u t i o n ? I f i ndeed t h i swould have been a sol ut io n, why wasn't i tt r i e d ?

Perhaps the Na t ion al Park Serv ice hasfound th e un ique so l u t i on to t he p rob lem o fvandal ism. We have a t El Morro Nat i ona lMonument an en t i re area set as id e t o pre-serve vandal ism. Wedcall th is pa r t ic u l arvandal ism "h is tory , " however . Inc ise d upona rocky b l u f f a t El Morro ar e the names and

I


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sen t imen ts o f many o f the ea r ly exp lo re rs o f t o d a y 's a s p i ra n t s f o r immo r t a l i t y .th e Southwest, da ti ng back t o Don Onates i n They must remember t h a t they a r e1605. Ad di t i on al "vandalism" i s not wanted not Don Onates, and the year i s no ta t El Morr o o r as Freeman ~ i l d e n ~n h i s book 1605. Requirements and values s h i f tThe Nat iona l Parks puts i t :- wi t h t h e y e a rs .

No f u r t h e r names, addresses, o r te le - The val ues o f some people have no t changephone numbers, e i t h e r on El Morro however, and t he re in may be the s o l u t io n or on any o th er na tu ra l o r manmade the prob lem o f vandalism. We need t o f i nfea tu r e i n the Na t i ona l Pa rk Sys tem, way to b r in g the values o f some o f ou r v iar e de si re d. T hi s may seem odd t o up t o date. Maybe we can do i t b y t a l k i n

them, o r by s t r i c t enforcemen t o r by ...whTi ld en , Freeman. 1951. The na t i on al parks: I do n' t know th e answer, b ut I do kn

What they mean t o you and me. 417 p. A l fr e d we c a n' t a f f o r d t o w a i t 200 years so we cKnopf, New York. c a l l vandal ism hi st or y.

Vandalism in Cal i fornia State ParksThomas Miller1

The d i c t i o n a r y d e f i n e s v an da li sm as " t he c u t t i n g h i s i n i t i a l s i n t o a t r e e . The t rw i l l f u l d e s t r u c t i o n o r defacem ent o f a r t i s t i c by t h e way, was s o s c r i b ed w i t h i n i t i a l s works, or pr oper ty i n genera l . " A few examples i t was dy ing f rom the cuts, j u s t as thougo f vandal ism are defaced s igns, broken windows, someone had g i r d l e d th e tru nk . The man ww a l l p an el s k i ck e d o u t o f r es tr oom s, g r a f f i t i w i l l f u l l y d e st r oy i n g t h e t r ee , an a c t o f pa i n te d on wa l l s , wooden st ru ct ur es dest royed da l ism. Upon my quest i on ing, he t o l d me o r u se d f o r f i r ewo od , h i s t o r i c a r t i f a c t s p a in t ed u n c e r t a i n t erms t h a t he was n o t d o in g a no r mu t i l a t e d , and v e h i c l e s damaged. The l i s t w ro ng ! Th i s i s an i l l u s t ra t i o n o f p a r t ocan go on and on. The purpose behind t he problem. Many van dal s may no t even re co ga c t o f vandal ism i s o f t e n d i f f i c u l t t o recog- t h a t they ar e vandals.n i z e . I w i l l e x p lo re some mo ti ve s l a t e r o n i nt h i s p a p e r . Who then ar e th e vandal s? We may a

be vandals a t one t ime o r another, depenTo get t o the whys o f vandalism, l e t ' s on our impact upon the pro per ty around us

look a t who th e vandals are . "K ids--you b et te r we go through our d a i l y rou t in e. I f whab e l i e v e i t ! The k id s a re knocking us apar t . " d o re s u l t s i n damage o r d e s t ru c t i o n o f pT rue ? Not n e c e s s a r i l y . " I t ' s t h e e t h n i c g ro up s we have vandal ized. What about the w i l l ff rom downtown, th at bunch o f people th at cf pa rt ? Vandalism i s work: some ac ts ta ke even speak Engl is h , they ar e the ones th at do energy than most peop le ar e w i l l i n g t o eth e damage." That statem ent i s n ' t any more pend wh il e ear nin g wages on t h e i r jobs. t r ue than th e one about the k ids . The fa c t i s a r en ' t be ing pa id t o vandal i ze - -wha t theywe c a n ' t p i n t h e t a g o f v a n da ls o n any p a r t i - i s v o lu n ta r y and w i l l f u l .c ul a r segment of t he popu lat ion . As an example,I have wi tnes sed people f rom the "estab l ishment" Who ar e the van dal s? Anyone who i s (you remember th a t term-- over 30, l i v e i n a enough and o l d enough t o do something th ahouse they a re buy ing, e tc . ) do ing th ings th a t faces o r des t roys the p roper ty o f o the rs .re s u l t e d i n t h e def ac emen t o r d e s t ru c t i o n o f Th at 's most of us. When many people ar ep roper ty - - p roper ty tha t was no t the i r own-- ab le o f be ing vanda ls , i t ' s no wonder thp u b l i c p r o p e r t y. T ha t meets t h e d e f i n i t i o n o f vandal ism i s a b i g prob lem. Because vanVANDALISM. i s a n a c t t h a t r e s u l t s i n t h e d e s t r u c t i o n

proper ty , and almost everyone i s capableI s p e c i f i c a l l y r e c a l l a man o f ab ou t 30, commi t ting an ac t o f vandal i sm, the b i g

t i o n i s why?Area Manager, St at e o f Cal i f o r n i a , Department Some exp ert s have demonstrated th at

o f Parks and Recre at ion, Hun t in gto n Beach, d a l i s m re s u l t s f r o m t h e need f o r r e c o g n iC a l i f o r n i a . Good re su l t s i n reduci ng vandal ism have


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ach ieved a t Grape E lementary School i n Wattsth rough a p rogram des i gned t o p ro v ide po s i t i ver e c o g n i t i on f o r a l l o f t he s tu de nt s. T h is i san appro ach beyond my ab i l i t y t o e x p l or eand deve lop. I am hopefu l th e psy cho log is t sw i l l c o n t i n u e w o r k in g a lo n g t he se l i n e s a nde v e n tu a l l y s u gg e st ways t o p r o v i d e f o r t h ei n d i v i d u a l ' s need f o r r e c o g n i t i o n .Some causes o f vanda l i sm a re l ess c le a r l yc o nn e cte d w i t h t h e need f o r r e c o g n i t i o n .S e l fi s h ne s s i s h i g h on t h e l i s t . S e l f -i s h a c ts o f t e n o cc u r i n t h e q ue st f o rf i r ewood . The ac t o f vanda l i sm inc ludes re -d u c in g i te ms t o a s i z e t h a t w i l l f i t i nt h e f i r e . A n y th i n g made o f wood i s t h e t a r -ge t , and s ign s , po s ts , doo rs , food l ocke rshe l ves, and wa l l pane ls ar e examples. Thetr ee s and undergrowth i n the camping areasa r e a l s o s a c r i f i c e d i n t h e q ue st f o r f u e l .A n oth er e xa mp le o f t h e s e l f i s h m o t i v e f o rv a n da l i sm c an be ob s er v ed i n a r ea s o f h i s t o r i cin te re st . Photographers have been known t o

pa in t ove r p i c tog raphs so they w i l l p r o v i d eenough co nt ra st t o show aga ins t rock back-g rounds . H is t o r i c p i c tog raphs have beendest roye d through such act s o f vanda l ism. Un-a u t h o r i z e d d i g g i n g i n a r c h e o l o g ic a l s i t e sd e s tr o y s t h e s t o r y o f e v en t s. A r t i f a c t s , o nc eremoved, become on ly conv ersa t ion p iec es i nthe hands o f un t ra i ned peop le who haves e l f i s h l y d e p r i v e d o t h e r s o f e nj oy me nt .R e ta l i a t i o n i s a n o th er r e a so n b e h in dv an da li sm . A ct s o f r e t a l i a t i o n a r e t y p i c a l l yt h o se t h a t hap pe n i n t h e d a r k o f n i g h t . T hel i f eg ua r d tower th at was chopped down and th eb u i l d i n g w i t h a l l o f t h e windows k no ck ed o u ta r e e xam ples . I t i s t he v a nd a li s m o f r e t a l i a -t i o n t h a t we i n t h e f i e l d c an do t h e mosta b ou t . I t r e p r e s e n t s o u r p u b l i c imagebarometer . I f we have a s i gn i f i c an t amount

o f r e t a l i a t o r y va n da l is m we ha ve a s i g n i f i c a npub1 i c image problem . How can you t e l l i f t hvanda 1 ism was r e ta l i a t o r y ? I t i s n o t d f f i c uta k e a l o o k a t w ha t y o u r o r g a n i z a t i o n d dyes te rday . I t i s amazing how t he vanda ismc o r r e l a t e s w i t h a r r e s t s o r o t h e r e n f o r cment ac ts . For example, i n one are a we knowth a t a l l o f the windows wou ld be b roken ou to f ou r en t rance s t a t i on s whenever en forcemen tac t i on was taken aga i ns t a l oc a l group. I ' mno t p ropos ing th a t we t u r n away f rom con t r o l -l i n g t h e ne ga ti ve a c ti on s o f v i s i t o r s w i t ht h e r e s u l t t h a t on e g ro up i n f r i n g e s o n t h er i g h t s o f o t h e r s . I am s a y i n g t h a t i f van-d a l ism i s t h e r e s u l t o f a l a c k o f r e s p ec t ,t he n t o l o s e t h e re sp ec t o f v i s i t o r s w i l li n c re a s e t h e v an d a li s m r a te ; t h e o p p o s i t ei s o f c o u rs e t r u e g ai t h e r e s p e c t o fv i s i t o r s and reduce vanda l i sm p rob lems. Tofocus on vanda l i sm i s t o focus on there la t i on sh ip between the use rs and theagency th a t manages the l and .

What does v a n da l i sm c o s t? I t i s n o tea sy t o p u t a d o l l a r v a l u e on i t . We knowth a t i n o ne a r ea t h e c o s t t o r e p a i r damagecaused by vandals was $2,330 during the summeo f 1975. T h at f i g u r e does n o t t r u l y r e p r e s e nth e c o s t s o f v a n da l i sm b ec au se t h e l o s s o fa v a i l a b i l i t y o f t he f a c i l i t i e s t o ot h er p eo plcanno t be ca l c u la t ed . Ne i t he r can the pe r -manent los s o f r esources such as t re es,u n d e r s to r y br u s h, s o i I , o r h i s t o r i c a r t i f a c t sbe represented by a do l l a r amount.

The cos ts o f vanda l i sm a re go ing upe v er y d ay , a l o ng w i t h t h e i n c re a s e d d e s i r e o ft he pu b l i c t o u t i l i z e p u b l i c p r op e rt y . Thec o s t s a r e t o o h i g h f o r u s t o c h a l k u p as t h ee xp ec te d c os t o f p r o v i d i n g f o r p u b l i c need.We h av e a r e s p o n s i b i l i t y t o a t t em p t t o r ed uc eth e c o s t b y a t t e m p t i n g t o r ed uc e t h e r a te o fvanda l ism.

Vandalism in a City ParkRic h a rd Sa rn p l

A g r e a t d e a l o f s o - c a l l e d v a nd a li s m i scaused by acc id en t and i s no t r e a l l y vanda l i sma t a l l . The te rm "vanda l i sm" i s a marve lousc a t c h a l l f o r p u b l i c a pa th y, i gn or an ce , l a c k o fc on ce rn a nd /o r i n t e l l e c t u a l l a z i n e s s .

D i r e c to r o f R e c r e a t i o n an d Ma i nte na n ce ,C i t y o f P l a ce n t ia , C a l i f o r n i a .

I n P l a c e n t i a , t h e o n l y v a n da l s a r e t h ed e s ig n e rs , s p e c i f i e r s , and i n s ta l l e r s who p r ov i d e t h e o p p o r t u n i t y f o r t h e s o -c a l l e d v a nd at o occur , and over the years I must i nc lud e ms e l f as one o f these . Seven ty - f i ve pe rc en t ow hat i s l a b el e d " va nd al is m" i n t h e c i t y o f P lcen t i a cou ld be p reven ted th rough des ign . Thremain ing 25 pe rcen t is ma1 ic io us and unaccoua b l e .


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We fe e l t h a t v a n da l is m i s an a t t i t u d e andi s c o n t r o l l a b l e f o r t h e mos t p a r t . Our r ec o rd sshow t ha t the wanton and mal ic ious des tru ct ioni s of t en done by groups, us ua l l y young males i nth e 14 t o 16 age group. We have a l so no ted tha tth i s age group ho lds th e la r ges t number o f schoo ldropouts and othe rs who ent er the mainstream o fa d u l t l i f e u n pr ep ar ed t o a c t a c c o r di n g t o a d u l tru l es, and too young t o be g iven the s ta tus th a twould go with compl iance.Des t ruc t i on i n the exp ress ion o f a need ,and an i n t e r p r e t i v e l ook a t the mo t i va t i ons behindthese ki nds o f v andal ism may open the door t oinnova t i ve so lu t i ons . I have taken the l i be r t yo f c l a s s i f y i n g v andal is m i n t h e c i t y o f P l ac e n ti ai n s i x c a te g o r i es 2 . I w ou ld l i k e t o s ha r e t h es ew i t h y o u :I . Vandal ism of overuse--This type o fvan dal ism can ta ke many forms. You can swinqon ly so many t imes u n t i l the cha in wears out .

How many ki ds can s i t on a bench? How many b a l l scan go through a hoop? And th e merry -go-r oundhas only so many turns.2 . C o n f l i c t v an da l is m -- T hi s i s t h e r e a c t i o nt o a t o t l o t b u i l t i n t h e m id dl e o f a b as eb al lf i e l d , a co n c re te c li m b e r b u i l t o n t h e b as k et -b a l l co ur t, a fence where a gate should be, andgrass where kid s want t o walk. I t i s the ex -p ress ion o f k i ds do ing wha t i s l og i ca l and mos tna tu ra l and/or most appropr ia te t o them regard-l e s s o f t h e d e s i g n er ' s i n t e n t . I t may b e a t r e ep lan ted whe re k id s want t o p lay b a l l o r i t maybe the pe r fec t p lace t o use fo r second base o rt o sw ing on th e way t o th i r d - -a t r ee b reaks and''vandals" ar e blamed. Vandalism may be th e t r e eb ranch too l ow t o wa lk unde r , too l ong to walka round, o r j us t the r i gh t he igh t to sw ing on.3. Leverage vandal ism--This us ua l l y pre-v a i l s d u r i n g b a se b a ll seas on. I t ' s f i n d i n g ah o l e o r a s l o t j u s t t h e r i g h t s i z e t o p r y w i t ha baseba l l ba t . The ba t i s s tuck i n a ho le , theboard i s p r ie d loose f rom the bench, the looseboard i s then ca r r i ed t o the j un g le gym, whe re

i t i s p ropped on the ba rs t o fo rm a can t i -l e v e r . I t i s t h e c o n cr e t e t r a s h c an w hi chc o u l d n ' t p o s s i b l y b e s t o l e n , b u t o f c o ur se ,i t a l so c an ' t be empt ied because i t weighs toomuch, es pe ci a l ly a f t e r the removab le s tee ll i n e r has been ca r r ie d away. I f i t doesn ' twork as a trash can, maybe i t can be used asa ba t te r i ng ram.

4 . Cu r i os i t y vanda l ism--Th is i s the an-swer t o what i s beh ind the locked door or beh indth e s p r i n k l e r c o n t r o l l e r o r u nder t h e manh ole

V . Mi ch ae l Weinmayer. 1973. Vandal ism byD es ig n, A C r i t i q u e . I n R e f l e c t i o n s i n t h e r e -cr ea t io n and park movement. Davi d Gray, ed.Wm C . Brown Company.

cover. I t i s t h e a c t o f j amming a s t i c kd r i nk i ng fo un t a in t o see how h igh th e wasq u i r t , p lugg ing a d ra in t o see how h ighw at er w i l l r i s e , p u l l i n g up a t r e e t o seth e r o o t s l o o k l i k e , a nd t a k i n g a p a r t t hground c l imb er t o check the constr uct i on .

5. I r r e s i s t i b l e t e m p ta t i o n v a n d a l i sT h i s i s w r i t i n g on a s h i n v p a i n t e d s u r f aa magic marke r o r r i d i ng a b i cy c l e th rougb i g mud puddle i n the new lawn where theage i s improper . I t i s c l imb ing ou t on branch t o see how f a r i t w i l l bend o r t ha b o t t l e a ga i ns t a c on cr et e w a l l . I t i si ng f l owers o r unsc rew ing the beau t i fu l th i ng on top o f the foun ta in because i tn ic e l y i n the palm o f one' s hand.6. The no-ot her-w ay-t o-do- it vandaThis is whv the b i cv c l e is leaned up agat r e e when t h e re i s no b i c y c l e ra ck . I t ing papers and bott les on the ground whei s no tra sh can and us ing th e sand box wi s no rest room o r when, worse ye t , the ri s l oc k ed . I t i s s i t t i n g on th e fe n ce a

ing your jac ket on a t ree .During the years, we have found thata d m i n i s t ra t o r s , f ac ed w i t h f i n d i n g s o l u tvandal i sm, expressed th e i r r eac t i on i n twc l a s s i c a t t i t u d e s . The " b a s t i l l e " a pp robu i l d i ng something so stro ng, so massives o s i m pl e t h a t k i d s c o u l d n ' t p o s s i b l y t edown. I t ' s j u s t t o make su re, e rec t i n g fence so the k id s can p la y on ly when admt r a t o r s l e t them, and i f t h e e qu ip me nt sgets broken, loc k in g the gates.The "zero" approach provi des no thi nthe re fo re the re i s no th ing t o b reak . Pu

up a fence w i t h no gates, pave th e area d o n ' t p l a n t t r e e s o r g r as s.We i n P l ac e n t i a f e el t h e o n l y s o l u ta c r e a t i v e a pp ro ac h. I t i s t o t r y t o una c h i l d i n s ea rc h o f d i v e r s i o n a f t e r s c ha n t i c i p a t e t h e a l t e r n a t i v e s and o p p o r t u nopen f o r ove ruse, co n f l i c t i n g uses , o r mo f p layground envi ronments.Possi b le so l u t i ons fo r some o f the r i e t i es o f vanda l ism which I have spokeninc lude :1 . P r o vi d e s u f f i c i e n t e qu ip me nt t o

courage overuse2. Bu i l d a pa th where the k id s wa lv id e a ga te nex t the ho le i n the fence . more tr ee s and pro vid e a way t o ru n throf lower beds so kids and plants can grow 3. Unlock the ga tes o r remove themthey won ' t be to r n down, p revent th e gatbecoming a swing


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4. Check and remove lo ose board s and s t r a yitem s used as le ve rs and hammers

5 . Mount t r as h cans on pole

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Vandalism and outdoor recreation: symposium proceedings