PROJECT OBJECTIVES

The Corps of Engineers has recognized for several years that the management of visitors at the Corps lakes has become increasingly difficult and that lack of law enforcement and security at the lakes was compounding the problems of the recreation-resource rangers. Immediate reaction to these conditions was not attempted, however, due to the fact that the actual status of the Corps law enforcement "problem" was not accurately known either in terms of severity or priorities.

As a consequence, PRC/PMS was contracted in an effort to more precisely assess the present visitor protection and security conditions, and to determine the cost and adequacy of various alternatives to improving these conditions. These findings are then intended to assist the Corps of Engineers in making decisions for a future course of administering effective visitor protection. More specifically, the study was authorized by Section 75 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-251) which states that:

"The Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of En-
gineers, is authorized and directed to study the need for and
means of providing visitor protection services at Water Re-
source Development Projects under the jurisdiction of the De-
partment of the Army and to report thereon to the Congress
with these recommendations..."

The actual content of the desired study was outlined in the Corps of Engineers' Request for Qualifications which appeared in the Commerce Business Daily, April 1, 1974. The overall objectives of this study have adhered closely, but have not been limited to the articles of the Corps Request.

(1)

jectives namely: 1) to determine the adequacy of current law enforcement operations and procedures as available through the Corps citation program and authorized law enforcement agencies; and 2) to present and discuss various alternative means of providing law enforcement services in the context of operational, fiscal, administrative, and organizational

terms.

This report will more closely address the methodological concerns involved in accomplishing these goals in the chapters on methodology and analysis. In the present context it is sufficient to note the various sub-objectives which have gone into fulfillment of study goals. These include:

The development of standards to achieve adequate visitor protection services and from which to more adequately plan and evaluate law enforcement service sufficiency;

Analysis of the present level of services available to Corps
lakes in operational and fiscal terms as well as those provided
by the Corps;

Correlation of other related park and recreation experiences to
that of the Corps through site interviews on federal, state,
and local levels;

Review of the literature pertaining to law enforcement in
recreation areas and facilities;

Development of alternatives for law enforcement at Corps lakes with assessment of merits related to the Corps, state and local agencies, federal and local courts, as well as the recreation

users.

BACKGROUND FOR THE STUDY

A.

Overview of the Corps of Engineers in Recreation

The U.S. Army was the first Federal agency to protect public park lands when they were called in to protect the resources of Yellowstone

National Park in 1886.1 The Army's responsibilities were soon extended

to complete control of operations of the park. This role lasted for 30 years until terminated at the begiar ing of World War I when troops were needed elsewhere. Shortly thereafter Congress created the National Park Service to continue with resource protection.

In the years between World War I and II, the civil works activities of the Army Corps of Engineers became extensively involved with constructing and maintaining navigation works along the nation's harbors and rivers. The Corps, along with other Federal agencies, became more involved in reservoir construction with the Flood Control Act of 1936. This Act declared flood control a Federal activity.

The Corps activities in water resources development were reviewed as pursuing the national interest in security, public safety and economic growth, and in recent years with environmental quality.

With the attraction that water holds for outdoor recreation, the waterways, navigation pools and lakes managed by the Corps have always been visited by recreationists. Congress has consistently held that water bodies and surrounding lands developed with public dollars should be accessible to citizens for their enjoyment. What started over a hundred years ago as kids skinny-dipping in a navigation channel and families

3

picnicking along the shady banks of a waterway has evolved into a major outdoor recreation activity in America. The growth of recreation use of Corps water projects has reflected the overall increase in outdoor recreation activity in America, and has become an important part of the Corps civil works responsibility.

When the National Park Service was established2 and replaced the Army at Yellowstone National Park, a ranger force was initiated to service and protect the park and visitors. The historical need to protect park lands from despoilers was also manifested in city parks and other recreation areas, particularly in the larger cities. At the same time the Army and National Park Service were protecting Yellowstone National Park, many of the large cities in the early 1900's were establishing special park police forces to control vandalism in their park and recreation areas. Most of these were established within the local municipal police departments.

Much of the law enforcement and visitor protection in Federal park and recreation areas was left to the park ranger. The park ranger, however, became known for his interpretation of the environment and his visitor courtesy functions.

enforcement officer.

Not many individuals considered him a law

As attendance increased at national parks, visitors began to look to the park ranger for control and personal security in concentrated areas 3 where antisocial behavior began to occur. In 1897 Congress empowered the Secretary of Agriculture to make rules and regulations for the use of the National Forests, and in 1905 extended to the Forest Service the authority to make arrests for the violation of laws and regulations." The 1905 Act also extended arrest powers to the National Park Service in 5 managing National Park lands. The 1916 Congress granted full police powers to the U.S. Park Police in the District of Columbia.

It soon became apparent that uncontrolled forces of the industrial society and mass immigration movements were making marked changes in

human behavior. Park grounds were not safe places to be alone. What was once considered a pleasurable experience was now considered in need of

armed guards.

While this changing scene in recreation was becoming more apparent, the Corps of Engineers was slowly entering the periphery of the field.

With Corps water impoundments becoming more attractive to recreation use, Congress gave the Corps authority to provide public outdoor recreation facilities at its projects in the Flood Control Act of 1944.* The Corps recreation authority was broadened in 1962 to cover all types of water resources projects, not solely reservoirs, in conjunction with the adaptation of Senate Document 97 which declared recreation as a full partner in the nation's multiple purpose water resources development programs. The Federal Water Project Recreation Act of 1965 further spelled out costsharing arrangements under which recreation developments can be provided at new projects (after 1965).

While these Acts provide the Corps with an overall legislative mandate to provide recreation facilities at their reservoirs, they do not provide specific guidance on how to cope with the increasing demands of resources management, changing recreation interests of visitors, and needs for public safety and visitor protection. There has not been a specific law enforcement mandate given to the Corps by Congress as with the Forest Service and the Park Service.

What was originally envisioned as minimum basic facilities for public safety, sanitation, and access are being exceeded by increasing standards for public health and water quality. Intensive use of developed recreation areas is placing extreme pressure on the Corps to be resource

*The recreation authority is contained in Section 4 of the 1944 Flood Control Act which states: "The Chief of Engineers...is authorized to construct, maintain and operate public park and recreational facilities in reservoir areas under control of (the Department of the Army), and to permit the construction, maintenance and operation of such facilities."

5