Updated Aug. 5
Police chiefs in West Tisbury and Edgartown say that their offices were not notified before the state cleaned up homeless encampments in the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest on July 29.
Edgartown Chief Bruce McNamee said that his office was not given prior warning, and West Tisbury Chief Matt Mincone said that he checked with his officers, fire department chief, emergency manager, and the town administrator, and no one had been notified in advance.
The State Forest is within Edgartown and West Tisbury.
Local police have said that coordination from the state would have given them some warning to set up a temporary shelter to house some of those displaced, and they could have coordinated with local health care professionals.
“We have certainly wanted to give adequate notice to the campsites and worked on somewhere else for them to go,” Oak Bluffs Chief Jonathan Searle said.
Tisbury Police Chief Chris Habekost also said that he was not notified.
An Edgartown police officer was on a routine patrol in the State Forest just before the clearing, and was flagged down by state officials. Chief McNamee said that the environmental officer assigned to the area was not on the Island at the time.
According to a police report, officer Zachary Towns said that after he was flagged down while on patrol, he assisted the department of conservation and recreation file a trespass notice to one individual living in the woods. Officer Towns noted that multiple signs had been installed recently informing campers that all items would be removed from the forest.
In a statement released Friday afternoon, state officials from the Department of Conservation and Recreation, or DCR, said that local police from West Tisbury, Edgartown, and Tisbury were aware of the issue at the State Forest, and that the clearing plan was coordinated with environmental police.
A Massachusetts Environmental Police spokesperson said that DCR contacted them about the issue and the clearing plan, but no environmental police officer was there at the site of the clearing.
It is something they’ve done annually for four years, the department told The Times.
“In coordination with state and local law enforcement, DCR routinely clears encampments in state parks to protect the environment, the safety of the public and to maintain our public lands. These actions help reduce risks from uncontrolled fires and hazardous conditions; prevent damage and contamination to natural habitats; address unsanitary conditions; and are part of our ongoing work to maintain our public assets and ensure they are safe spaces for all,” the statement read. “DCR continues to work closely with our municipal and public safety partners as well as local agencies and organizations that assist and provide resources to individuals affected by these clearings.”
DCR said at the site trash, feces, vodka bottles, cigarette butts, and evidence of fires in pine needles were found and needed to be cleared for public safety and environmental reasons.
State officials are also disputing that residents living in the woods were not warned. Staff with Harbor Homes, an Island nonprofit that assists homeless individuals, has told The Times that to their knowledge, individuals in the forest were not warned.
But DCR said over the past month they made in-person contact with the remaining individuals on the site to notify them of the clean up scheduled for July 29 and asked that they remove their belongings prior. The department also said they posted signs in advance notifying those sheltered in the forest about the clean up and that any remaining items would be disposed of.
Aside from a discrepancy in a warning, there are also disagreements between state and local agencies on how many people were actually sheltered in the State Forest.
Harbor Homes officials have said that two large encampments of about people were cleared from the State Forest by DCR, leaving little option for the homeless to go. Staff have said that some personal items like medication and identification were taken. The state, in its statement, said that as of a week ago, only three individuals were in the forest. Their understanding is that there were only five individuals sheltered there in June.
Local agencies, including the local hospital, are currently working on a way to help those impacted by the clean up.
“Martha’s Vineyard Hospital stands ready to help those affected with their medical needs. We also had so many wonderful staff members show up this morning in our Community Room to stuff bags with food, hygiene supplies, water, towels and more to be delivered to Harbor Homes for distribution,” Denise Schepici, president of the hospital, said in a statement to The Times.
“I am so proud of our team. There are not enough words to describe their compassion, commitment to our community and their willingness to step up and help out no matter what the challenge,” Schepici said.
Let the DCR perform their work.”DCR said at the site trash, feces, vodka bottles, cigarette butts, and evidence of fires in pine needles were found and needed to be cleared for public safety and environmental reasons.” These homeless individuals are doing open defecation, drinking, using drugs, open fires in the forest. Dogs will not defecate in their homes as these individuals do. Abusers of alcohol, drugs, are prone to commit crimes like assault, rape, theft etc. Squatting in the woods is a crime. Allowing housing people in the woods is a certain recipe for more serious crimes. Evict them.
State forests should never be used for a housing complex ever. By state law, forest land is dedicated for conservation, recreation, logging and other similar purposes not housing. National, state and municipal parks should protected for the current and future generations as specified by law. Please do not destroy our land.
How were these unfortunate Islanders notified that all their possessions would be trashed?By mail? Phone call to their places of employment? Notification to agencies that were trying to help with housing? I did not see anything on the sign about exit dates, or anyplace that people could recover their important property. I feel that our local law enforcement would have made an effort to help people exit, yes, ok, an illegal campsite, with a little more compassion.
This is not new, I spent most of the seventies camping in the summer, sometimes legally, sometimes not, like many others I know.
Why?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sER0FzJO-c0&list=RDsER0FzJO-c0&start_radio=1
It’s heartbreaking to see vulnerable people lose their belongings. Sentimental items. Medication. Legal documents. The trauma of coming “home” to nothing.
The photo of the charred wood is problematic. A forest fire could be life-changing for many, many people. And let’s not forget that the MV Times has reported controlled burns of forest trees that are infested with beetles due to global warming.
– Let’s find proper housing for vulnerable people
– Let’s continue to control the beetle infestations as best we can
– Let’s continue supporting the windmill farms so that we can cool our earth
– Let’s vote for politicians who support renewable energy initiatives
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