TAOS, NM — The Rainbow Family of Living Light has chosen 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 manages the annual event 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 understand there may be impacts to our community, our neighbors and our forest visitors,” said James Duran, Forest Supervisor for the Carson National Forest. “We are working with our partners to minimize the effects to our local communities and the environment. All visitors to the national forest are expected to obey federal, state and local laws and regulations, and we take the enforcement of these laws very seriously.” 

A forest resource protection plan for the event will address concerns about health and safety, watershed protection, natural resource protection and rehabilitation of the event site before the group leaves. The Forest Service is mobilizing a national incident management team with experience managing these types of events. The team is working in unified command with the Taos County Sheriff’s Office and other local authorities. 

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 and county roads on Carson National Forest in Taos County and communities within are expected to become congested during the event and road closures and/or traffic detours may occur on the National Forest.

In addition to the Rainbow Gathering, Stage 1 fire restrictions are effective 8:00 a.m. Thursday, June 17 due to the ongoing drought and increased fire danger.  

Under Stage 1 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.

Forest visitors are asked to use extreme caution when fire restrictions are in place. Violations are punishable as a Class B misdemeanor by a fine of not more than $5,000 for individuals and $10,000 for organizations and/or by imprisonment for not more than six months. Fire prevention and law enforcement will be patrolling, and anyone who violates Stage 1 restrictions will be ticketed. 

The closure order that places the Carson National Forest under Stage 1 fire restrictions is posted on the website and is available at all Carson National Forest offices. All current closure orders are posted on the Alerts and Notices page of the website.

For more information about the Rainbow Family national gathering, visit http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/events.