Point Reyes Light- September 24, 1998
Not enough pagans in park to justify ticket, judge says
A federal judge last week dismissed a $100 citation pagan priestess Cerridwen Fallingstar of San Geronimo had received from a National Seashore ranger for leading a May Day celebration on Limantour Beach without having a special use permit.
US Magistrate Judge James Larson decided after a 10-minute hearing in San Francisco there had not been enough pagans on Limantour Beach (no more than 75 by Fallingstar's count) to require her to get a permit.
Rangers argued that Fallingstar's group, EarthRite, assembled about 100 people to dance around a Maypole in a Wiccan ritual known as Beltane, which many of the men and women celebrated in a topless, but otherwise decorous, ceremony.
Fallingstar allowed this week that rangers may have had difficulty counting the dancers, who were in motion. In addition, she said, rangers may have included some onlookers who were indistinguishable from the pagans.
"We didn't have anywhere the numbers needed to issue a citation," said Fallingstar after the hearing. "At the beginning of the ritual, I always count, and I counted about 70 people."
Park regulations were revised in August to require groups of more than 100 to get a special use permit, but no specific number had been set when rangers counted "about 100" people at Limantour Beach May 1, said Assistant Supt. Frank Dean on Monday.
Fallingstar told The Light she felt justice was served at the hearing but still questioned the constitutionality of interrupting a religious ceremony being held on public land.
Noting that the same group was cited in 1997 for not having a fire permit, Dean maintained it is incumbent upon all park visitors to obey the rules, regardless of their religious affiliation. (This year Fallingstar had a fire permit.)
"If you've got a group, it's a good idea to call and find out what the rules are," he advised. "Even though it's public land, there are some regulations about what you can do. It's common courtesy to find out what the do's and don'ts are."
Anticipating a return to Limantour Beach for another Beltane celebration next year, Fallingstar said EarthRite will apply for all the necessary permits and try to have good relations with the Park Service.
Dean said the National Seashore holds nothing against pagans. "I'd welcome them to come back," he told The Light. "It's not a big deal with us."