A long-running counterculture festival celebrating its 50th anniversary that was scheduled to take place on Independence Day, July 4, has been canceled by U.S. Forest Service officials due to a lack of proper permits and concerns about the environmental impact.
The Rainbow Family of Living Light rally was scheduled to take place the first week of July in California’s Plumas National Forest, but on June 25, U.S. Forest Service officials issued an order asking people to leave the area, and anyone who refuses to attend faces fines of up to $5,000 or six months in jail.
“The Forest Service is concerned that more than 500 people are already camping in one location, spread out over the area, and we are always willing to work with organizations and groups interested in recreation on national forests. There have already been and are expected to be impacts to natural and cultural resources and other permitted uses. Our priorities are maintaining public health and safety and properly managing our public lands and natural resources,” Plumas National Forest Superintendent Chris Carlton said in a statement Wednesday.
While the current retro craze may be focused on the 1990s and 2000s, the Rainbow Family Gathering is a self-described hippie commune that meets once a year during the first week of July.
Meet the Rainbow Family:10,000 Hippies and One (Illegal) Gathering in a Remote Forest in Colorado
Rainbow Family’s roots go back more than 50 years
The Rainbow Family Gathering, which began in Colorado in 1972, was founded by veterans struggling with alcoholism, drug addiction, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Camping on public land in an environment reminiscent of Burning Man or a Grateful Dead concert is the centerpiece of the event. The exact number of participants is unclear and varies from year to year, but the U.S. Forest Service estimates that this year the event will draw as many as 10,000 visitors.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Forest Service said the gathering was an “unauthorized non-profit use incident” that “has the potential to have significant impacts on traffic, the community, local resources, residents and visitors.”
This lawlessness has often put the congregation at odds with local police over drug use, sanitation and deforestation.
As USA TODAY previously reported, many participants try to minimize their impact on the environment, but rallies of this size have led to incidents and arrests before.
“Each year, Plumas National Forest experiences a surge in visitors in late June and early July as they enjoy not only summer recreation in the forest, but also the numerous community events that take place around the Fourth of July,” Plumas National Forest Superintendent Chris Carlton said in a press release earlier this week. “We recognize that the addition of the Rainbow Family Gathering in Plumas National Forest poses additional concerns about impacts to the local community, natural resources and environment, and we intend to work with our incident response team to minimize any negative impacts to the greatest extent possible.”
On social media Wednesday, Lassen County Supervisor Jason Ingram praised the U.S. Forest Service’s decision, posting on Facebook, “My concerns have always been about this gathering: the illegality, increased fire risk, environmental impacts, and blatant disrespect for local tribes. Events are ok, but events that blatantly disregard the law and endanger fire safety on our lands and in the area are not.”
Max Hauptman is a trends reporter for USA Today. He can be reached at MHauptman@gannett.com.
