The Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department has been under fire for years because
of the Steven Avery case. Maybe they have been ordered to do a little sabor
rattling.
Dwight Alton
Rockton, Il
-------- Original message --------
From: Rob <robzeeee@xxxxxxxxx>
Date:02/29/2016 6:52 PM (GMT-06:00)
To: "<rcd2@xxxxxxxxxx>" <rcd2@xxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: Wisbirdnet <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [wisb] Re: Birding and the Law
Wow!
Sounds like someone with a little too much time on his hands. I've also birded
in Manitowoc County for decades and have never had that experience. In fact, a
few times, sheriff's deputies have even stopped and chatted and asked what I
was looking at. Right at Collins...
Maybe it's a newbie.
The guy could make a killing if he took a job in Outagamie County and went
after the snowy owl watchers, or the lines of cars at Horicon.
Sorry you were subjected to that harassment.
Rob Zimmer
Appleton
Outagamie Co.
Sent from my iPhone
On Feb 29, 2016, at 6:07 PM, <rcd2@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:e
Until this morning I considered myself a kosher citizen. I do not smoke,
I do not drink (other than water and V-8), I do not swear, and I do not do
most things. But I do go birding and that, it seems, has made me all these
past 50 years a habitual lawbreaker. And, as I explained to the deputy
sheriff, I intend to be a hardened criminal the rest of my natural life. I
have no remorse or sense of repentance for the wrongs I have committed âso
you had better lock me away in prison right now so as to prevent future
crimes sprees. And when he left, I did indeed continue in my criminal
pursuit. But, as the deputy sheriff kindly explained, he is there to enforce
the law and to let ordinary citizen (such as myself) understand the law and
the consequences of breaking those laws. He asked that I let other birders
understand that they are also engaged in unlawful activities and should
understand what will happen when they break the law. It is thus that I am
sending this m
ssage to other birders.h
I was birding the Collins Marsh area enjoying the experience of seeing
geese and ducks as each day new species were arriving. This morning I had my
first Hooded Mergansers, my first Killdeer, and first Common Grackles. I was
really getting into getting out of the house and enjoying birds. Suddenly
the sheriffâs car pulled up behind me with its lights flashing. It took
him a few minutes (perhaps to check out my past misdeeds) before approaching
my car. I was parked in my car and looking for birds through my window
mounted spotting scope. I must admit that I was parked not far from a curve
in the road. The shoulder was VERY wide and I was parked well off the road
(completely on the gravel and over a foot away for the edge of the pavement
and some 4 feet away from the âfog lineâ with my two passenger side
wheels on the grass. It seems by doing this, I was breaking two laws. The
deputy sheriff even printed off the law for me so that I could fully
comprehend t
e crime I was committing. It seems it is illegal to stop at the side of anyi
road in Wisconsin. This includes state highways, county roads, and town
roads. If one does this for any purpose other than for car problems, you are
subject to a stiff fine. It seems, according to this deputy sheriff, the law
is especially strict in Manitowoc County. He asked me to tell other birders
to Google âManitowoc County Ordinancesâ, then go to âPolice
Ordinancesâ and then see rule number 6.16 â8â. By reading this
ordinance they will learn that they are in defiance of the law and subject to
a fine. Also by stopping so far off the road that my tire was on the grass
at the edge of the road, I was breaking a second law. This law is that one
cannot park on private property without the ownerâs consent. I commented
that I thought the county or the township owned the first few feet off the
gravel edge of the road. But I was wrong. According to this person of
authority, the h
ghway has only a right of way on this private property. And thus I am ingra
violation of a second law.
I then told him that for about 20 years I worked on BBS routes, which are
25 miles long and one needs to stop every half mile, get out of their car,
and take count of what birds are noticed in a 3 minutes period. Is this an
illegal activity? According to this deputy sheriff that is indeed a
violation of the law and if caught, such deviants are subject to big fines.
It also seems it might be illegal to park my car on private property (with
the ownerâs permission) and then walk to the road to watch for birds. It
would be ok if I kept walking but, it I should happen to stop (for instance
to use my spotting scope to look at shorebirds from the gravel edge of the
road) that is likely illegal. Also, if I should step off the gravel edge of
the road and stand on the grass at the edge of the road, this would be
illegal without the consent of the property owner. âThe sole purpose of a
road is to convey traffic from one location to another.â Standing at the
edge of the
vel part of the road and scoping for shorebirds is an impediment to traffic####################
and thus likely illegal. Though he was not quite certain of this. He would
need to look into other ordinances. It would also seem that it is illegal
for me to take my long walks, even if I did keep moving. One of the reasons
I moved to Manitowoc County was that I could park my car along some rustic
rural road and take a long county walk of 25 or 30 miles. But if I should
park on any road within Manitowoc County so as to take a walk, I am subject
to a fine for illegal parking.
Again, I am sending this at the request of the deputy sheriff who wants
to let all birders know of their lawless behavior and how they will be
treated if they should enter Manitowoc County. You have now had fair warning.
-- Bob Domagalski, from the not so friendly confines of Manitowoc County
####################
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