I disagree. A landowner should not be mandated to clearly mark flagging tape on their property in order to protect it from hikers taking it down.
Why are there still summit registers?
- Thread starter Sanbu
- Start date
Help Support vftt.org:
I disagree. A landowner should not be mandated to clearly mark flagging tape on their property in order to protect it from hikers taking it down.
RE flagging removal, on privately owned land I would have to argue that removing flagging is potentially problematical unless its obviously bushwhacking waste. I know of one landowner who uses several colors of tape for different purposes including one color for delineating rare plant types. These plants would not be obvious to a typical hiker and they would probably inadvertently step on the plant while removing the flagging. The FS on federal property also use flagging for delineation of logging cut boundaries and establishing no cut swaths around streams and wet areas. I have also encountered what I believe are research plots on FS property marked with flagging.
This is great info and I agree in these types of circumstances it would be inappropriate to remove flagging. Although tape along the ridge between Carrigan and Vose Spur would obviously not fall within that realm and is definitive trash.
I am also under the impression that it's sometimes used during S&R missions to mark off searched areas. I've heard a story from a volunteer of someone coming down a trail with all the searchers flagging as an active search was happening.
SpencerVT
Member
I personally would like to see more signs, canisters, and registers at summits. I don't have a problem with it. I bushwhack all the time and 99.99 percent of mountains are completely wild with no signs of humanity. I don't have a problem with a designation at the summit that leaves a .001% trace of humans proportionally to the rest of the mountain.
Humans are part of the Earth and part of nature too, so I see nothing wrong with a small sign, canister or registers at summits. They are not permanent alterations to the mountain or landscape. It's not like it's strip mining. There's nothing wrong with humans sharing their relationship with the summits in this small and harmless way.
Alternatively, I think a good compromise is to just have a small pile of stones marking a summit. That was what was atop Weyman (ADK) this weekend. It's a completely natural marker for a summit and I think represents a good compromise between the Canister/Sign/Register vs. Leave No Trace schools of thought.
Humans are part of the Earth and part of nature too, so I see nothing wrong with a small sign, canister or registers at summits. They are not permanent alterations to the mountain or landscape. It's not like it's strip mining. There's nothing wrong with humans sharing their relationship with the summits in this small and harmless way.
Alternatively, I think a good compromise is to just have a small pile of stones marking a summit. That was what was atop Weyman (ADK) this weekend. It's a completely natural marker for a summit and I think represents a good compromise between the Canister/Sign/Register vs. Leave No Trace schools of thought.
One form of trash I hope we can all agree on are those darn mylar ballons. I find them frequently and I haven't found any good reason not to haul them out. I do like the moose sheds that are hung off of some summits
TEO
Well-known member
Re. survey tape:
I don't believe that survey tape is used much for property boundaries, as it is too impermanent. Paint blazes are standard, and it's relatively easy to figure out that the blazes are property markers.
If you're using survey tape for scientific studies, you would be pretty stupid to not label the flagging—not to prevent others from removing it, but to be able to identify that sample in the future. (Sure you can mark it with a GPS waypoint, but again, it would be stupid to not be redundant.)
The reality is that it is relatively easy to determine if the survey tape might be in place for legitimate purposes or if it is trash that you should remove and carry out. For example, if you're hiking in an area of active logging or if it has recently been logged, or if you're hiking on private property, then you should probably leave it be. If you're deep in state or federal land, & nothing is written on it, or it isn't otherwise obviously being used for legitimate purposes, then odds are pretty high that it's trash. If you're on land designated as wilderness, the odds are probably 99.99%.
Finally, I don't think we should ever suggest that survey tape is an appropriate tool for navigation, regardless of whether or not someone claims they will remove it on the way out.
I don't believe that survey tape is used much for property boundaries, as it is too impermanent. Paint blazes are standard, and it's relatively easy to figure out that the blazes are property markers.
If you're using survey tape for scientific studies, you would be pretty stupid to not label the flagging—not to prevent others from removing it, but to be able to identify that sample in the future. (Sure you can mark it with a GPS waypoint, but again, it would be stupid to not be redundant.)
The reality is that it is relatively easy to determine if the survey tape might be in place for legitimate purposes or if it is trash that you should remove and carry out. For example, if you're hiking in an area of active logging or if it has recently been logged, or if you're hiking on private property, then you should probably leave it be. If you're deep in state or federal land, & nothing is written on it, or it isn't otherwise obviously being used for legitimate purposes, then odds are pretty high that it's trash. If you're on land designated as wilderness, the odds are probably 99.99%.
Finally, I don't think we should ever suggest that survey tape is an appropriate tool for navigation, regardless of whether or not someone claims they will remove it on the way out.
Stan
Well-known member
I think you'll find a lot of agreement on that. Excessive flagging is not only obnoxious in itself but perhaps an indication that someone may be in over their heads with respect to navigation skills ... flagging notwithstanding, that can be risky.Amen to that. Not to sound elitist; but if you need to use marking tape you probably should not be there in the first place. Where in lies the challenge? Asbestos suit on.
