New Mexico; Carson National Forest
I hope I'm posting this in the right section of the forum...
I took a job at Taos Ski Valley, NM knowing I'm homeless and live out of my RV, the job doesn't pay enough for rent - even at an RV park - but the ski valley is surrounded by (and most all of its parking lots are owned by) Carson National Forest. I called the FS ahead of time and asked if I can effectively 'dispersed camp' in the parking lots. The answer; so long as I move 100 feet every 2 weeks I'm legal to park as long as I like.
The website is hardly a collection of bullet points and only says, "up to 14 days" with no mention of whether or not you can move somewhere else in the forest for another 14 days.
I've since gotten LOTS of mixed messages from within and outside of the Forest Service. Many with variations on the above move-around-every-few-days rule, some saying you're restricted to a certain number of 14 days allotments, some saying 14 days and then you must leave and never come back. Some say you can not camp here if you also work in proximity, some say you can't camp in an RV, some have even implied I'm not engaging in 'recreational activity.' (In other words, I'm not fun enough? Would it help if I make a campfire and roast marshmallows every other night?)
Yet others outside the Forest Service claim there are unsolicited laws that do allow people to park/camp on public land for as long as they like so long as they aren't squatting.
Can anyone clear this up?
Thanks in advance...
- Jo
I hope I'm posting this in the right section of the forum...
I took a job at Taos Ski Valley, NM knowing I'm homeless and live out of my RV, the job doesn't pay enough for rent - even at an RV park - but the ski valley is surrounded by (and most all of its parking lots are owned by) Carson National Forest. I called the FS ahead of time and asked if I can effectively 'dispersed camp' in the parking lots. The answer; so long as I move 100 feet every 2 weeks I'm legal to park as long as I like.
The website is hardly a collection of bullet points and only says, "up to 14 days" with no mention of whether or not you can move somewhere else in the forest for another 14 days.
I've since gotten LOTS of mixed messages from within and outside of the Forest Service. Many with variations on the above move-around-every-few-days rule, some saying you're restricted to a certain number of 14 days allotments, some saying 14 days and then you must leave and never come back. Some say you can not camp here if you also work in proximity, some say you can't camp in an RV, some have even implied I'm not engaging in 'recreational activity.' (In other words, I'm not fun enough? Would it help if I make a campfire and roast marshmallows every other night?)
Yet others outside the Forest Service claim there are unsolicited laws that do allow people to park/camp on public land for as long as they like so long as they aren't squatting.
Can anyone clear this up?
Thanks in advance...
- Jo