Community invited to virtual public meeting on Rainbow Family Gathering occurring on Carson National Forest

Release Date: 

Taos, NM – June 23, 2021 – The Carson National Forest and the Taos County Sherriff’s Office invite the community to attend a virtual public meeting on Thursday, June 24 at 6:00 p.m. to learn about the Rainbow Family Gathering occurring on the Carson National Forest.

The Rainbow Family of Living Light has selected the Forest Road 76 corridor area on the Camino Real District on the Carson National Forest for its 2021 national gathering. The event will coincide with the Fourth of July holiday, and participants have already begun arriving. The forest will experience the highest concentration of visitors during the first week of July.

The Rainbow Family is a loose-knit group of people from throughout the USA and other countries. Each summer they hold a national gathering to pursue social and spiritual activities and pray for world peace. Since 1972, the event has taken place on a different national forest each year. Crowds range from 2,000 to 10,000 forest visitors.

The USDA Forest Service works in close coordination with tribal, state and local partners to protect the health and safety of everyone involved, and to lessen environmental impacts to the site by providing information and enforcing laws.

“We share your concerns regarding impacts to our community and invite you to the public meeting to learn more about the gathering and how the Forest Service is managing it,” said James Duran, Forest Supervisor for the Carson National Forest. “We will continue to work with our partners to minimize the effects to our local communities and the environment.”

An event of this size can have significant impacts on traffic, communities, local resources, residents and visitors. Local businesses can expect to see large numbers of Rainbow Family participants visiting stores and buying food and supplies along routes to the gathering site. Forest Road 76 and those in the surrounding area are expected to become congested during the event and road closures and/or traffic detours may occur on the National Forest.

To join the public meeting please visit: https://bit.ly/3qsH7Yw

As a reminder the Carson National Forest is under Stage 1 fire restriction. Under these restrictions, fires, campfires, charcoal grills, and coal and wood stoves are allowed only in developed campsites or picnic areas with Forest Service-built fire rings or grills. Campfires are prohibited at all dispersed camping sites on the forest. The order also prohibits welding, using an acetylene torch or operating any torch with an open flame within the boundaries of the Carson National Forest.

The link and additional information regarding the Rainbow Family national gathering can be found at http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/events.