Rainbow Family starts gathering in Oregon

SALEM, Ore. -- Concern is growing in a conservative, remote corner of Oregon as people start arriving in a national forest for a Rainbow Family of Living Light annual gathering, a counter-culture get-together expected to draw thousands.

Officials with the Malheur National Forest said this week about 600 Rainbow Family members already are camped at a gathering site near Flagtail Meadow, and between 10,000 and 30,000 are likely to arrive by July 4, when the multi-day event peaks with a prayer for world peace.

People with small children, those with disabilities and senior citizens were among those who wrote to the event's Facebook page, discussing the site near the town of John Day in eastern Oregon, accessibility and bus routes.

Some commentators expressed concern about keeping the place hygienic.

"Bury your s--t, bury your dog's s--t, bury your baby's s--t," one person wrote.

The U.S. Forest Service said as of Tuesday, it had made two arrests and handed out 31 warnings and three violation notices.

The Forest Service said its resource specialists are making sure kitchens, peace circles and latrines are located appropriately.

Ahead of last year's event in Vermont in the Green Mountain National Forest, there was a lot of concern about whether the Rainbows would pick up after themselves once the gathering was over. They carved campsites out of the wilderness, but once the bulk of the Rainbows left, a number stayed behind, in some cases for weeks, to clean up.

An Indian tribe, the Burns Paiute, said the Oregon site is within its ancestral territory and asked for attendees to be respectful.

In a welcoming note to attendees, the tribe noted the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in the winter of 2016 by those trying to put federal lands into the hands of locals had occurred on land sacred to the tribe.

"We are still recovering from last year's desecration," the tribe said.