Government officials have 'unqualified access to private land;' hunters sue to change Open Fields doctrine

The Open Fields doctrine has allowed government officials access
to private land. (Photo by Institute for Justice via Farm Journal)

Sometimes private land isn't private, and in states such as Pennsylvania, the question, "How much power does the government claim on private land?" is answered by a court ruling, reports Chris Bennett of Farm Journal. On Sept. 29, a "court ruled against two hunting clubs in their lawsuit accusing the Pennsylvania Game Commission of private property rights violations. . . . In its ruling, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania noted the government's absolute power to 'roam private land without consent, warrants, or probable cause.'"

The hunting clubs, Pitch Pine and Punxsutawney sued PGC "after game wardens consistently entered club lands without permission or warrant, and secretly monitored club members, including photo collection via installation of a hidden game camera," Bennett writes. "The wardens' behavior, the lawsuit asserted, was a direct violation of Pennsylvania's state constitution, which explicitly protects 'persons, houses, papers, and possessions.'"

The Open Fields doctrine allows state and federal officials "unqualified access to private land" without requiring a warrant to "enter or surveil private land," Bennett reports. "The Commonwealth Court detailed the alarming powers and 'unfettered discretion' assumed by the government via Open Fields: To ensure their members' privacy, the Hunting Clubs have posted their properties with no trespassing signs and have installed gates at all entrances to exclude nonmembers and intruders. However, the Entry Statutes empower game wardens with unfettered discretion to enter upon and roam private land without consent, warrants, or probable cause."

"Six states place state constitutional authority above the Open Fields doctrine: Mississippi, Montana, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington," Bennett writes. The Institute for Justice represents Pitch Pine and Punxsutawney is appealing the decision. "Arguments before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court should take place in 2024, with a decision likely in 2025. IJ is litigating similar Open Fields cases in Virginia and Tennessee about warrantless intrusions on private land."

(For more on Open Fields, see How Much Ag Property Is Protected From a Warrantless Search?)

Quick hits: Some parts of rural America less vulnerable to pandemic; should Civilian Conservation Corps be restarted?

Here's a roundup of stories with rural resonance; if you do or see similar work that should be shared on The Rural Blog, email us at heather.chapman@uky.edu.

Should America consider restarting the Civilian Conservation Corps in response to the economic crash brought about by the pandemic? Read more here.

A New York Times project illustrates the spread of covid-19 in rural areas since Feb. 20. Read more here.

Some pockets of rural America are less vulnerable to pandemic, for now. Read more here.

Google has been running a series of doodles on its home page for the past week thanking those critical in keeping the country going during the pandemic, such as health-care workers and teachers. Today, the doodle features a thank-you to farmers. Read more about the series here.

Recently released video games that allow players to simulate an idyllic rural existence are becoming popular. Read more here.

The Rural Health Information Hub spotlights how some rural communities are creating innovative solutions to deal with the pandemic. Read more here.

A rural Indiana county is facing an unusually high covid-19 infection rate, and no one is sure why. Read more here.

A rural Georgia county ordered local residents to shelter in place more than a week before state leadership did. Their early response may have saved lives, but also highlights the problems that come with patchwork local response in states across the South. Read more here.

Quick hits: Impossible Burger goes big; online gaming without broadband; S.D. ag town tries to be a mural mecca

A mural on a 110-foot grain elevator in Faulkton, S.D.
(Progressive Farmer photo by Greg Lamp)

Here's a roundup of stories with rural resonance; if you do or see similar work that should be shared on The Rural Blog, email us at heather.chapman@uky.edu.

Burger King started offering the plant-based Impossible Burger in test markets on April 1. It's been such a hit that the chain now plans to offer the "Impossible Whopper" nationwide later this year. Read more here.

"Drug maker Gilead Sciences will give $11.3 million to help prevent and treat hepatitis C in Kentucky, Indiana, West Virginia, Tennessee and North Carolina. That money is part of a five-year project aimed at a region that’s been hit hard by the viral disease," Lisa Gillespie reports for Ohio Valley ReSource.

A rural farming community of 700 in South Dakota has made a name for itself as a mural mecca, Greg Lamp reports for DTN/The Progressive Farmer.

Online gaming is difficult at best without reliable broadband, so a gaming company has come up with an innovative solution to ensure rural gamers can play. Read more here.

West Virginia native 'pleasantly surprised' by Fallout 76 depiction of her home state

Politicians, writers, journalists, and pop culture often reduce the complex realities of Appalachia to a few tired stereotypes and tropes, so West Virginia native Sarah Einstein said she wasn't expecting much better from the recently-released video game Fallout 76, which takes place in a post-apocalyptic West Virginia.

Instead, Einstein was "pleasantly surprised" that Bethesda Game Studios mostly got it right, she writes for Rewire News. Bethesda's design director said in a recent interview that he hated "redneck post-apocalyptic" cliches and felt it was important not to fall into that trap when depicting West Virginia.

"The careful work that went into realizing this mandate can be seen throughout the game. As a player, you enter the game through Vault 76—a fallout shelter meant to house people through the toxic years—and find yourself in a wooded area just outside of Flatwoods," Einstein writes. "And the thing is, these are the right woods, with the right trees, the right bird songs, with rhododendron and fern. It feels like home. The game’s recorded voices have a variety of accents, from the deep drawl of the middle counties to the clipped consonants of a non-native speaker, but all of them feel authentic and, except for a few robot characters clearly programmed to be 'down homey,' none seem overdone."

Even the nuclear mutants encountered by characters are a neat bit of symbolism, and "are the direct result of outside corporate interests exploiting the people and environment of the state—and while this is a constant throughout the Fallout franchise, it feels especially apt in a game set in West Virginia," Einstein writes.

West Virginia leverages new Fallout game, which is set in the state, with a tourism campaign and research

Fallout 76 players explore Camden Park, a real-life amusement park near Huntington, W.Va.

The newest video game in the popular Fallout series is set in West Virginia, and the state is ready to capitalize on it. Fallout 76, which goes on sale today, features open world play with more than 50 real locations in the Mountain State such as Camden Park (pictured above), the New River Gorge Bridge, and the state Capitol, as well as nods to local folklore like Mothman and the Flatwoods Monster, Matt Combs reports for the Register-Herald in Beckley.

It's not West Virginia as most people would recognize it, though: the Fallout games, created by Bethesda Softworks, are set in a post-apocalyptic future. Fallout 76 takes place in 2102, about 25 years after a nuclear war; players in the online multiplayer game are tasked with rebuilding America while dodging mutant monsters, Combs reports.

Three West Virginia University researchers are planning a study to see how the game's setting affects players' perceptions of the state. Jaime Banks, Christine Rittenour and Nick Bowman, all associate professors in the Department of Communications Studies, will conduct the study as a three-part survey. "It presents a unique opportunity to look at how people experience the state and whether/how its culture is represented," Banks said in a news release. "We’ve studied avatars and gender identity and racial identity in games. But we don’t know very much about regional identities."

The game is worth studying because it resists lazy stereotypes about West Virginians, the researchers said. "But Fallout 76 seems to flip that script. They built this fallout shelter and survived. Now they’re the saviors of humanity," Banks told Combs.

The West Virginia Tourism Office hopes the game will spark new interest in the state, and has partnered with Bethesda Softworks on a promotional campaign to showcase the state and the game, Kate Queram reports for Route Fifty. It's not so far-fetched: though the game is set in a nuclear apocalypse, it's one that's returned mostly to nature, and features breathtaking views of West Virginia's natural scenery.

The campaign will include targeted advertising, promotions, official travel itineraries echoing in-game missions, and tour opportunities for game fans who want to see its settings in real life. Some identifiable places in the game are already starting to see increased traffic because of the game, Ruby told Queram.

Pokémon Go players are disrupting quiet rural towns, creating safety concerns around the world

The rural town of Occoquan, Va. is overrun with players.
(Washington Post photo by Evelyn Hockstein)

The global phenoenon of the Pokémon Go game is disrupting some rural towns and creating safety hazards. Game players have been linked to car accidents, injuries, robberies, sexual assaults, and even a death in Guatemala, after a user was shot and killed by a homeowner after breaking into a house to catch a Pokémon, Ryan Miller reports for USA Today.

Signs of disrespect abound, along with safety concerns. A Central Kentucky cemetery has posted notice that play is prohibited inside its grounds. The United States Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., has asked players to stop searching for Pokémon inside the museum, Andrea Peterson reports for The Washington Post. The Pentagon has banned use of military phones to play the game, Andrew Tilghman reports for Military Times. The mayor of a rural French town has banned the game, saying it puts drivers and pedestrians as risk, Philippe Sotto reports for The Associated Press. In India, where the game has yet to be released, a public-interest group has called for the game to be banned, fearing it will cause traffic accidents, Raymond Ronamai reports for International Business Times.

Copyright: Sperling's Best Places

Occoquan, Va., a 300-year-old historic riverfront town of 1,016 residents just off Interstate 95, "has unwittingly become a hotbed for the game," Perry Stein reports for the Post. "A place that touts itself as 'an oasis and a little-known gem' offering 'that personal touch of Main Street USA' has transformed into a virtual-reality superhighway. Occoquan’s newfound popularity has been a boon for the quaint restaurants and shops that line the town’s three-block main strip, as any kind of tourism brings in business. But residents in the D.C. suburb are now complaining that Occoquan has lost its quiet vibe, and town officials are scrambling to figure out how to keep everyone safe."

What makes Occoquan a popular Pokémon destination is that it's a town on the banks of the Occoquan River, "home to both land and water creatures in the game." Stein writes. "Occoquan is filled with restaurants and shops, and by virtue of its centuries of history, it is lined with historical markers; these are spots conducive to housing lots of Pokémon, something that is a rarity in most suburban and rural areas. And it’s just 11 miles south of the Capital Beltway along I-95, making it central to many commutes and a short drive from the District."

Playing of the game in Occoquan has led to the unusual sight of traffic jams during the day and pedestrians wandering the streets at 2 a.m., Stein writes. "Occoquan’s denizens are ­demanding a way to make it all stop. They speak of parents struggling to put young children to sleep because of all the Pokémon-related chatter outside their homes, and they worry about the drivers who have been playing Pokémon Go while behind the wheel, careering down one-way streets in the wrong direction. Occoquan’s leaders have put up signs around town warning people not to 'Pokémon and Drive' in an attempt to keep pedestrians who are staring at their phones safe from drivers who are doing the same."

Mix of video games and exercises keep seniors active in some rural communities in Iowa

Rural communities in Iowa that don't have exercise facilities have found a new way to keep senior citizens active and healthy. It's a new fad called "exergaming," which combines video games and exercise. In this instance, volunteer trainers show seniors 60 and older how to use a Nintendo Wii or an Xbox Kinect—which doesn't require a remote control—to become more active, Estela Villanueva-Whitman reports for The Des Moines Register. The program, "LIFE—Living (well through) Intergenerational Fitness and Exercise, is part of an Iowa State University research study that has since expanded to include a website with resources for older, rural Iowans to start programs of their own." (ISU photo)

The program grew out of research by Sarah Francis, assistant professor of food science and human nutrition at Iowa State. As she studied nutrition and developed programs "to encourage behavior changes at congregate meal sites, she noticed a recurring theme of older adults enjoying the Wii gaming system to bowl or play tennis," Villanueva-Whitman writes. "At one site, the adults would wait in line because only one person knew how to use it."

The program began in 2011 with funding from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Rural Health and Safety Education grants. "The pilot program involved 46 participants, with 18 Iowa State University students serving as trainers," twice a week for eight weeks, Villanueva-Whitman reports. Afterward, seniors continued exergaming on their own "and received newsletters discussing additional ways to get physical activity and focusing on cognitive exercise, brain health, social relationships and nutrition." Currently, 92 seniors and 29 trainers participate in the program in 12 counties, with 10 more counties having signed up to start programs. The goal is to get 400 seniors and 80 trainers involved. (Read more)

Once destitute Calif. tribes fight to keep others from benefiting from off-reservation casinos

Thomas  Lozano at the planned
Enterprise Rancheria Casino site
(NYT photo by Max Whittaker)

To pull itself out of poverty, the Maidu Indian Tribe of California in 2002 applied to build an off-reservation casino about 35 miles south of the few acres of reservation land where a handful of the tribe's people live in broken-down trailers. The federal government has approved the plan, but the final decision rests with California Gov. Jerry Brown, who is expected to decide on the fate of the planned Enterprise Rancheria casino and another tribe’s off-reservation proposal by an Aug. 31 deadline. But, reports Norimitsu Onishia of The New York Times, "Plans for the two casinos are drawing fierce opposition and last-minute lobbying in the state capital from an unexpected source: nearby tribes with casinos that they say will be hurt by the newcomers. Leading the fight against Enterprise is the United Auburn Indian Community, whose casino, Thunder Valley, has become one of America’s most profitable and has brought the formerly destitute tribe unimaginable riches."

How unimaginable? Onishia reports that "with 80 percent of its revenues coming directly from gambling, Thunder Valley is so profitable that it has transformed the lives of its owners, the 400-member United Auburn tribe, most of whom received welfare benefits until the casino opened in 2003. The tribal council has provided housing for members, built group homes for troubled children and connected residential areas to water and sewer systems. All members receive free health care and dental benefits. Children making the honor roll receive hundreds of dollars in incentives. The tribe’s 200 adult members each get a share of the casino’s revenues, which local news media have reported as $30,000 per month, and which industry experts have estimate is more. Douglas G. Elmets, a spokesman for the tribe and a former White House spokesman during the Reagan administration, said only that members did not need to work for financial reasons, but that many did in tribal affairs."

Since Indian gambling was legalized in the United States in 1988, only five tribes have gotten final clearance to build casinos off their reservations.  The issue in California now has raised larger issues in Indian communities across the nation about the goals of gambling. A decade ago, tribes were united in their efforts to further Indian gambling, which was supposed to give them the means to become self-sufficient, said Steven Light, co-director of the University of North Dakota’s Institute for the Study of Tribal Gaming Law and Policy. But he said that talk of “fairness and justice” has given way in an increasingly competitive market. (Read more)