When Does the Public Have a Right to Know?

Public Safety

By Kathleen Galbraith
 

     If you have family or an acquaintance in Canjilon, or if you watch the news, you will know that a suspicious package containing what looked like a pipe bomb was left at the Canjilon Ranger Station the morning of Monday, August 10. It was accompanied by a note that read “found at the lake.” State Police were called and in no time the station was swarming with officers, bomb squad techs, and U.S. Forest Service personnel.

    You, the general public, didn’t hear about it on the news that Monday night, or on Tuesday, or on any day that followed. In fact, the general public was not informed until eleven days later, on Thursday, August 20, when the ATF published a reward notice and a press release that was subsequently covered online, in print newspapers, and on local television news.

    I heard about the incident on Tuesday night, August 11, when a concerned Canjilon resident took me aside and shared a few details. Most disturbing was the fact that forest service employees had been told NOT to share the incident with the public. Baffled, I challenged my source. This was a public safety issue. Surely the forest service, whose motto is “Caring for the land and serving people,” would want to warn the public immediately.

    Wednesday morning I spoke at length with a forest service employee who confirmed the details off the record, and in the process revealed that the Canjilon bomb was just the tip of the iceberg. In fact, several months back, several other bombs were discovered just across the mountain near the Tres Piedras Ranger Station. I did a quick internet search and found no reference whatsoever to any reported bomb activity in the Carson National Forest.

    On Wednesday afternoon, August 12, I drove to the Canjilon Ranger Station and spoke with the Deputy District Ranger, Jasper Colcord, who would not confirm or deny the incident. She directed me to Zach Behrens, the public affairs officer for the Carson National Forest.

When reached later in the day by phone Mr. Behrens said he could not share any details. When I assured him that my concern was about public safety rather than details about the device, he said he could not comment on an ongoing investigation. He suggested I file an “inquiry” with the ATF. Additionally he declined to confirm the date of the incident.                     

    I filed an online inquiry that day with the ATF and within two hours I received a call from Crystal McCoy, ATF Public Affairs Specialist. I told her that I had been informed by a forest service employee that several bombs had been found some months ago at or near the Tres Piedras Ranger Station, and wondered if the ATF connected them to this incident. I told her that the Forest Service was declining to verify that the Canjilon incident occurred and reiterated that my concern was public safety. I pressed her to tell me how the public would find out about the incident in a timely fashion if the Forest Service would not confirm or deny the fact that it even happened. She declined to speculate on the Forest Service lack of action. She confirmed that the ATF would never tell the Forest Service not to warn the public. In later conversations I determined that my online “inquiry” was the first time she had even heard about the incident(s).

    I reached out to Forest Supervisor, James D. Duran, in an e-letter asking for: the rationale behind keeping the incident a secret; whether the are had been searched; what measures had been taken to ensure public safety; and whether the incident at Canjilon might be connected with the ones at Tres Piedras. To all of those questions I received this reply from Zach Behrens: “Because investigations remain active, we are unable to provide specific details at this time. Canjilon Lakes, including the fishing areas and campgrounds, remain open. There is currently no known threat or danger.” In a follow-up email on August 18, he confirmed that the area had been searched.

    We now know that the Canjilon devise was severely degraded and not a danger. We now know that at least one of the Tres Piedras bombs detonated causing minor damage. We know that the ATF is taking public safety seriously, publishing guidelines for what to do when a suspicious device is spotted, and even offering a substantial reward for information.

   What we don’t know is why the supervisor of the Carson National Forest chose to not publicize the Tres Piedras bombs; why he would not publicize that the area had been searched; why he would not suggest caution in visiting Canjilon Lakes; why he would not ask the public to take extra care to monitor children when they are in the area; why. he would not allow allow his staff to reassure the public; why he would not immediately report suspicious devices rather than touching them. allow his staff to reassure the public; Informing the public for their own safety is a right, a responsibility, and a show of respect. It is the foundation that trust is built on. Without trust, we are on shaky ground, and we, the public, deserve better.