Leif Thorvaldson wrote:


"George" george@least wrote in message
...

"mac davis" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 4 Jun 2005 19:20:23 -0400, "George" george@least wrote:

How do you feel about gypsy moth and emerald ash borer laws?

damn, I didn't even know that moths' and borer's had legislative
branches... how
many laws have they passed??


We have lived with the first for years, though the second is a relatively
new problem. Outright ban now on moving ash from infected areas. Of
course, like environmental law, they're really only enforced on
large-scale operations. Periodically the DEQ will inspect firewood
haulers of the individual type, just as they check and demand draining of
your boat after pulling it from a zebra-mussel infested area. Don't want
them in inland lakes and streams any faster than they can walk by
themselves.

Second-guessing legalism and police-bashing aside, it's aimed and will
likely only be enforced against the guy hauling a trailer. Don't know
that it would ever become a primary enforcement item.

==== What bothers me about this is the almost stealth-like passage of the
legislation. Also, its shotgun application to all people who deal with
wood either for personal firewood gathering, for turning purposes or even
for carving (lots of cedar used for that in the chainsaw carving genre).
Western Washington, where I live, lots of people use wood stoves and there
is a cottage industry of chainsaw carving. I used to haul ten cords of
wood that was sold off the University of Washington's demonstration forest
per
year. They issued sale receipts, but now, it appears that I would have to
have a Sheriff's blessing on each load that I trucked out. It would take
about 20 truckloads. I didn't use a trailer. Random enforcement is like
traffic stops for a taillight out, but they ask to search your vehicle
anyway. What is it about the politicians that they persist in trying to
make criminals out of all of us.

Power--if everybody is a criminal then anybody can be arrested at any time
on a politician's whim.

As stated above, I think the new law is a
knee-jerk response to a few occasions and perhaps some influential ox was
gored. I will be speaking with my State Senator about this.

Leif

--
--John
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(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)