News that there will be increased law enforcement presence for those planning to head to the lake for Victoria Day weekend will no doubt be met with scorn from less-than-happy campers.
Nobody wants to find themselves slapped with a fine when they are just trying to enjoy the sun and a few days off work, right?
The attitude from a lot of people seems to be that they have a right to do what they want when they go camping – getting back to nature means disregarding normal civilised behaviour, and chopping down, burning and destroying whatever they feel like.
The only reason police are finding a need to increase their presence is because so many people seem to be unable to behave properly without police babysitting them.
Residents in the Koocanusa area are concerned because they see the damage being done by long weekend partiers, in their backyards.
Speeding your ATV along the trails, lighting illegal fires, drink driving your truck to the store, and generally causing damage and annoyance are not acceptable behaviours when you are in your hometown, so why would it be OK when you are out in the forest?
The laws are there for a reason. They are there to protect not only our own safety, but also those of others, and of the environment. We all enjoy nature, that’s why we go camping, so why wouldn’t we want to protect it?
Perhaps the best way forward is to show those that are babysitting us that we are all grown up now and can behave like adults. After the long weekend, if the police find they did not have to issue any drink driving tickets, there were no mechanically unsafe ATVs being thrashed around, and no illegal campfires, we will be able to enjoy the lake and the long weekends without being watched over.
Do you think the campers at Lake Koocanusa are out of control? Is more police presence needed? Email editor@thefreepress.ca
