CONCORD – As the Rainbow Family Gathering peaked on July 4, there were about 2,200 members illegally camping in the White Mountain National Forest near Berlin and Randolph.
The group is known to gather for spiritual reasons to pray for world peace, but they refuse to get a permit claiming they have no leader to sign the paperwork.
The U.S. Forest Services issued about 120 violations during their stay, almost half involving illegal drugs.
The gathering took place in the Kilkenny Area on the Androscoggin Ranger District of the White Mountain National Forest with some arriving as early as June 12.
Berlin Mayor Paul Grenier said: “Because of the cool, rainy weather and the strong, professional law enforcement presence, there was a barely noticeable impact in Berlin.
“The issues onsite had a larger impact. I want to thank the US Forest Service, US Border Patrol, NH State Police, Coos County Sheriff’s Department and Berlin Police for a job extremely well done. The group was well-prepared and it showed,” Grenier said.
Every year, the group picks a different U.S. Forest for their annual gathering. It was a smaller group than usual at the White Mountain National Forest possibly because of the location and rainy weather, according to Hilary Markin, spokesman for the Forest Service’s incident management team.
Markin said there were violations issued for illegal drugs, alcohol use, motor vehicle violations and damage to vegetation.
Based on Forest Service records, 116 violation notices were issued in relation to the Unauthorized Noncommerical Group Use Incident on the White Mountain National Forest, and of those 56 were on drug related charges.
The drug related charges include officers finding fentanyl, LSD, heroine, ketamine, methamphetamines, psilocybin mushrooms, ecstasy, cocaine, and marijuana.
“There was a variety. Most were harder drugs,” Markin said.
Markin said most of the campers were on their way home Wednesday, but some members will hang back to help clean up.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, there were 121 violations issued altogether, of which 37 were resolved by the defendants agreeing to pay a fine, ranging between $25-$200 per violation.
Circumstances, or the evidence, warranted a dismissal of 58 violations. Twenty-four were unresolved and will be rescheduled for the next hearing date, as the individuals failed to appear. Bench trials have been scheduled for two defendants on Sept. 23 and Nov. 13, the release stated.
“The orderly resolution of these violations was a testament to the coordination of this office, the U.S. Forest Service, and the U.S. District Court, who agreed to host these two special sessions,” U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young said.
Special sessions of the U.S. District Court’s Central Violations Bureau were convened by U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrea K. Johnston at the Littleton District Courthouse in Littleton on Friday, June 30, and the Warren B. Rudman United States Courthouse in Concord on Wednesday, July 5.
The purpose of these sessions was to process violation notices that were issued by the U.S. Forest Service. Any additional violations issued during the Rainbow Family Gathering will be processed during the U.S. District Court’s normal business.
In Colorado last year, 10,000 people gathered for the event.
The U.S. Forest Service posted the following information online:
“The Rainbow Family is a loose-knit group of people from throughout the United States and other countries. Since the first gathering near Strawberry Lake on the Arapaho National Forest in 1972, the incident has taken place on different national forests each year.
“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 mobilized a national incident management team with experience managing these types of incidents. The team worked closely with the local community, including law enforcement agencies, throughout the incident to protect the health and safety of everyone involved, and to lessen environmental impacts to the site by providing information and enforcing laws.”