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John Hollenhorst reportingThe death of extreme skier Billy Poole while he was performing a dangerous stunt for the cameras two weeks ago has prompted an investigation of a possible criminal violation. If there was a violation of the law, it appears to be one film-makers are breaking all the time.
You know the old question, "If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, did it really fall?" Well, if there's a law in the national forest and no one enforces it, is it really a law?
Warren Miller's popular films feature death-defying stunts all over the world. You can buy the films or catch them on the Internet. But if they shoot in the Wasatch Mountains, in the National Forest, a permit is mandatory.
Loren Kroenke, district ranger for the U.S. Forest Service, said, "If the intent of the activity is the sale of a product or a service, a special-use permit is required."
In theory, violators can get fines, even jail time. Did Warren Miller Entertainment have a permit when they filmed Billy Poole on his fatal day as an extreme skier?
"Our law enforcement people are reviewing the case, and I really don't have any information on that incident," Kroenke said.
The film's director told us by phone he thought they had a permit. Then he said he hoped they had a permit, possibly arranged by someone in another office.
"We did not issue a permit, and it would need to have come from this office," Kroenke said.
The theory of the permit is to enable the Forest Service to review plans to protect the environment and visitor safety. Film-maker Mike Call produces rock-climbing documentaries. He said, "I've always known that you needed to get a permit for national parks, but I had no idea you needed to get a permit for national forests."
He says going to the bureaucracy for a permit every time might put his industry out of business. "What we're doing is capturing these moments in time. And you don't have time to put in a 30-day permit request and hope that it comes through."
Call says dozens of films a year are shot in the Wasatch. How often has the Forest Service issued permits for ski films? Exactly never in Loren Kroenke's six years.
"We've not issued any special-use permits for commercial filming in the winter in the backcountry," Kroenke says.
So why not enforce it before now? It's a manpower issue. "We're a fairly small staff here, and we're just not in the field that much in the winter time to really know what's going on," Kroenke explained.
Amateur film-makers are exempt from the rules as long as they're not shooting for commercial purposes. As for the ongoing investigation, Kroenke says it could take a long time.
