New BLM ranger will patrol Five Mile Pass, Knolls
Written by Mark Watson
Tuesday, 21 November 2006
For those who like to play on Tooele County's public lands it's important to know the rules and be on your best behavior because there is a new a ranger in town.
Tamsen Johnson, who was sworn in by Utah State BLM Director Selma Sierra last Friday, will join Randy Griffin as a new law enforcement officer for the Bureau of Land Management's Northern Utah division, which includes Tooele County. Johnson will patrol hot recreational areas in the region including Five Mile Pass, a popular ATV area along the border between Utah and Tooele counties.
"Now we'll have another law enforcement officer packing a gun at Five Mile," said Glenn Carpenter, manager of BLM's Salt Lake Field Office. "We've been counting the days until Tamsen's return from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center."
Officers will spend several hours each week in the Five Mile Pass area, which is swamped each weekend because of its abundance of trails and close proximity to highly populated Utah and Salt Lake Counties.
"I love the outdoors and I love law enforcement," Johnson said. "I grew up in Box Elder County and I've been around law enforcement my whole life. My dad is chief of the police department at Weber State University."
Johnson earned masters and doctoral degrees in criminal justice at Weber State and spent the past two summers working as a student with the Salt Lake Field Office of the BLM. This summer she spent 18 weeks at the Federal Law Enforcement Office at Glynco, Ga & a boot camp for federal agents.
"We covered firearms, defensive tactics, arrest tactics and behavioral science," Johnson said. She also spent 12 weeks of field training this fall in the St. George and Las Vegas areas.
"Her family is a Utah family and it helps to have someone who understands the law and has worked and played in Utah," Carpenter added.
The BLM officers want to keep a close eye on the Five Mile area, partly because of concerns over overcrowding and firearms violations.
"We've had some problems with people shooting in the ATV area. We've posted new signs out there," Carpenter said. "We have 37,000 acres out there and we're improving the area by adding camping facilities. We're also drilling a well out there and plan to build outhouses next summer."
He said there have been fewer problems at Knolls, 30 miles east of Wendover.
"We've had a few problems with rave parties at Knolls. These parties last all night and drugs are available," Carpenter said. Along with alcohol, another drug used at these parties is ecstasy. However, the Knolls area is peaceful most of the time and a great place for recreation, he adds. "We have some nice facilities out there with some outhouses."
The mission of law enforcement officials for the BLM includes protecting cultural and historical sites such as petroglyphs from vandalism; locating and eradicating drug-manufacturing laboratories and marijuana fields; ensuring the humane treatment of horses and burros; guarding against the dumping of hazardous wastes and other pollutants; and preventing theft and damage to timber, rare cactus plants, minerals and other publicly-owned resources.
In addition to Knolls and Five Mile Pass, other areas the officers monitor in Tooele County include the Bonneville Salt Flats, Clover Springs, Pony Express Trail, Deep Creek Mountains and west desert rockhounding areas.
e-mail:mwatson@tooeletranscript.com
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 21 November 2006 )
