DEL.ICIO.USThe Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/27/08
It's against federal law for cave divers to dig up fossils, but that doesn't stop some from doing it.
If Marietta diver Jack Gregory catches them in the act, he'll wag his finger at them in the universal sign for "no" and point toward his eyes: "I'm watching you."
 Photo courtesy of Jack Gregory | ||
| After more than three decades in law enforcement with the U.S. Forest Service, Jack Gregory now repairs scuba equipment at the Dive Shop. He has testified in Congress about off-road vehicles damaging federal lands. | ||
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Then, he said, "I'll meet them on land, and we'll have a little chat about it."
Gregory, 56, retired in 2006 after 36 years in law enforcement with the U.S. Forest Service, but he's still trying to regulate bad behavior on public land and underwater.
In March, he gave expert testimony at a congressional oversight hearing on "The Impacts of Unmanaged Off-Road Vehicles on Federal Land," a panel which asked follow-up questions earlier this month.
Off-road vehicle traffic almost doubles on holidays like Memorial Day, Gregory said.
"Here in the South, it's extra tough; because of the price of gas, people are going to want to recreate locally," he said. "They take their rigs and go. It creates tremendous pressure when you don't have enough people regulating it."
As special agent in charge of the U.S. Forest Service Southern Region, which includes Georgia, for 10 years, Gregory became well-versed in the damage caused by such off-road vehicles as motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles and Jeeps.
"Congress needs to put their foot down and serve notice that when it comes to off-road vehicles, we're watching you," Gregory said. "Do you think the American public as a whole wants to hear that we have all these areas that are trashed due to [off-road vehicles] because the Forest Service didn't do its job in a timely fashion or woke up late? They expected stewardship."
Gregory submitted a 12-page paper, which he boiled down into a five-minute presentation before the House Natural Resources Committee's Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands.
He offered three solutions, calling on Congress to:
• Double the current level of law enforcement in the field.
• Provide more oversight on the agencies in charge and impose a user tax or fee on off-road vehicles.
• Impose a forfeiture statute on the driver of an off-road vehicle who endangers people or seriously damages the environment.
"If you're an avid ORV'er and just heard your good buddy had theirs seized for bad behavior, are you going to be good or bad?" Gregory said.
The Public Lands and Forests Subcommittee of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has scheduled a companion off-road vehicle hearing for June 5.
"I have been reminded several times that the House appearances got the ball rolling and that the needed legislation will come, with time," Gregory said.
He's encouraged by one recent decision.
Starting in June, thousands of acres in Sonoran Desert National Monument in Arizona will be closed to vehicles to allow the land to recover from damage by off-road vehicles, the Bureau of Land Management said. The decision bars the vehicles from almost 55,000 acres and closes about 90 miles of off-road vehicle routes for at least two years.
Gregory stressed that he's not against off-road vehicles, especially when used by people to get to a hunting base camp or to ride on established routes. But there's a third group, made up of people who "tear everything up, want to have a hoot and just raise hell.
"Unfortunately, we're seeing more and more of the third category," he said. "It's frustrating. We see reckless behavior and generally people know, 'Hey, I wouldn't be doing this if that guy with the gun on and in the green uniform was here.' "
Gregory was tapped to speak by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and Rangers for Responsible Recreation. He augmented his own experiences with stories provided by current Forest Service employees.
"I think he has a strong sense of what's right and wrong, even though he takes a fairly humorous approach to it," said Jeff Ruch, executive director of PEER.
After a career dealing with federal regulators, these days the only regulators Gregory deals with are the ones that supply a scuba diver with breathing gas. He repairs equipment at the Dive Shop on Sandy Plains Road, where his wife, Jackie, who also retired from the Forest Service, is an instructor.
Gregory goes by "Jumpin' Jack," a nickname given to him in 1971 by the hippie group, the Rainbow Family of Living Light.
His new job suits him.
"I came from a life of not taking shortcuts and making sure everything's done right," he said. "The last thing I want to do is short-circuit someone 100 feet down."
But don't even think about kicking up the bottom of a cave and ruining the dive for everyone else. Gregory might be watching.
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