I am disabled and require a concentrator and bipap machine.  I don't like to use generators, and I do have solar to help replenish my battery capacity.  However, there are days that are cloudy and solar cannot replenish my batteries.  So now I can't stay but one day and have to leave the park unless electric shor power is available.  Who is the idiot that can't think forward enough to recognize this issue?

Rick Puckett

I do not agree with prohibiting the use of a generator. I am curious as to why the state feels a need to do this. If anything, maybe the quiet hours should have changed. Guess I will have to run my rv chassis motor to charge up the batteries from now on.  

I would like to know the reason for no generator use. Generators have been used for as long as I can remember and I am 62. They are now more energy efficient and more quiet than ever. How are we supposed to charge our batteries batteries to run our cpaps at night during rainy days? You are going to make a lot of people that have used State Parks for a long time to look to other places and hurting the State Park income as well. This does not make since to me at all. 

I THINK it is VERY PATHETIC that this CORRUPTED LYING GESTAPO State called Virginia WILL CONVICT Someone a SEX OFFENDER FOR USING the BATHROOM in their PRECIOUS WOODS..  The ENTIRE Virginia General Assembly BELONGS in Virginia State PRISON CELLS RIGHT NOW for THEIR FRAUD and CORRUPTION DEALS and GETTING THEIR POCKETS LINED DEEP by the CROOKS at DOMINION ENERGY and these other CORRUPTED Companies. One more reason NOT TO GO CAMPING or SPEND one Damn DOLLAR in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Concerning generator use - is this really a problem we need to protect the public from?  The current crop of inverter generators are very quiet - the public would be better served with a rule based on generator noise vs an outright ban.  The state could use the manufacturers specifications or test the generators themselves and publish an approved list.  I've used my Yamaha EF3000 inverter generator and people camping 30' away were completely unaware I was running a generator.

As for urinating in the woods - humans have been doing it for millennia.  My peeing behind the bushes in the woods during a 3 hour hike should not be a legal issue.  If you're not peeing in the middle of the trail, no one really cares.  If women in Colorado can go topless on main street, I should be able to pee behind a bush like the bears.

There are families with a handicapped camper who must have a generator for various reasons, most importantly running electric refrigeration to keep medicines at proper storage temperatures.  This rule must be reconsidered as it may well be in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and free access to public overnight camping facilities.

No problem with any of the changes; however, not addressed was the problem of campers booking all the weekends and then there’s no availability for those wishing to stay longer than a week.  Parks r often ghost towns during the week -please make provisions for availability for retirees wanting to come for a longer stay. Thanks.

While most state parks I have camped at have had working bathroom facilities, they’re in desperate need of routine upkeep as well as cleaning. If you want the public to continue to use your appointed facilities, then they need to be maintained accordingly. ESPECIALLY if the only “bathroom” that’s available is a port-a-John, they’re disgusting! I’d rather pee outside than possibly contract MRSA (again). And if I do choose to urinate away from camp, that’s my business - I shouldn’t be punished like some vile pervert exposing themselves in front of children & being forced to register on the sex offender registry. That’s ridiculous. 

The mere fact that something as natural as peeing behind a tree in the woods would be considered a class 1 misdemeanor and now a class 3, and registration as a sex offender!! What Moron came up with this! Do bears have to register? I can think of times on a hike where bathrooms were not available what do you do? Get branded for life as a pervert for trying to enjoy the outdoors and having an unplanned bathroom need. If you are going to be stupid enough to do this it is your responsibility to provide clean safe restrooms at intervals where handicapped individuals who have issues would be able to have access to facilities. I believe I'll stay away from VA state parks. Thanks for the warning! 

I don’t think generators should be banned. They are already required to be the “quiet” inverter/generators with limited time frames to use them. Let the generators stay with the noise restrictions and time of use in place! 

Respectfully reconsider the additional consequence of an offender being added to the sex offender registry. It is outrageous to have someone charged a misdemeanor for having to relieve themselves, and have them entered on the registry for sex offenders. The registry was not formed to track habitual urinators! The people visiting State Parks expect common sense laws, and not be scared for life because of a natural biological need. Please reconsider the wording, and consequences. The code of Virginia provides the consequences as a misdemeanor. Forcing a citizen to register as a sex offender unfairly escalates the consequences to more liken a felony.  

this is just absurd. Lets just do away with camper revenue and make a state park law. Noone to have fun with their children

I understand completely the banning of generator use during quiet times however changing the law to include non-quiet time hours is ridiculous.  There are many people that use medicines, breathing nebulizers needed for treatments, etc that need to run on electricity. Charging of wheelchairs also would be a concern.  Stipulating quiet times is very understandable but keeping someone from running generator when there are dogs barking and people hollering and kids screaming is a little ridiculous. Also, if Virginia wants people to use their state parks in July and August when temperatures during the day reach 90's and 100's then they will either have to provide electricity at ALL their camper sights or allow the generators. Due to the extreme heat factor I believe it would be against the law solely based on health reasons to prohibit the use of an air conditioner if one had one to use. 

Well, I will be bypassing Virginia State Parks on my many trips to the state.  Quiet hours for usage is sufficient, but expecting people to swelter, when hookups are not available, is ridiculous.  Also, that leaves us not being able to take our pets.  Who came up with this crazy idea?

I am not sure I agree with this ban as this hurts some dry camping at places with no services. The old rules did restrict when they could be run.

The use of Generators during non-quiet hours should be permitted. I am curious of the ability of the state to mandate such restrictions on a Publically funded property without having a more democratic process. As others have mentioned, generators are useful for keeping things cool when needed (medications, pets, people in summer) - I find it ridiculous that this is even possible. Is there a public say on this other than this form. 

If I am reading correctly, public Urination is considered a class 1 misdemeanor and that will be changed. But, others seem confused and this needs clarification. Seems today that one could be charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor and have to register on the Sex Offender Registry, but you are looking to lower that charge. I hope so. That is insane! You have vast areas where reaching a bathroom would be impossible for many. Your facilities are inadequate to cover the needs of the public. I would think it unlawful to put an impossible burden on people and then charge them for misuse. You either provide the bathrooms all over the park or rethink this rule. It is inhumane. 

I somewhat understand the generator issue as protecting plants and such from the exhaust but I do not understand complete banning. My husband is retired military and uses a cpap. We have stayed at many state parks and occasionally have lost power. When this happens we are comfortable to start generator and keep things running but to have no option means people would have to leave and go just outside the part to maintain a quality of life. Some units have an automatic system that the generator comes on when power is lost. Maybe changing this rule to allow people to maintain life systoand medical reasons to use generator.  As it is the Va state parks are more expensive than other states and VA has less sites with electricity. Please don’t force us to skip VA state parks! Our neighboring states have beautiful parks also. 

My family and I enjoy camping.   We do have a generator to use when we are either at non electric areas or for backup power.  Having two little children and pets, heat becomes a major issue and camping in the summer  at non electric sites without the aid of a generator will be a no go for sure. If you ban generators, you are going to have less visitors staying.   You could always add more electric sites but I believe from a money standpoint, allowing us to use generators is cheaper than putting in electric across the states at all sites.  Thank you for reading.  

I think it is a huge mistake to ban any generator use.  Generators have many legitimate and essential uses.There are better ways to enforce noise policies. 

As a lifelong outdoorsman I can assure anyone reading this that Mother Nature works on her time. You may be as predictable as a clock but one day MN will come calling when you are on a hiking trail, back of a cove fishing, out on a turkey hunt or 1 of a 1,000,000 other possibilities. For this to ever have been a crime while in a rural setting shows the true density of the lawmakers in what used to be the great state of Virginia. 

We are talking about a bodily function as natural as your next breath and somehow, somewhere some shallow minded money slave decided we should not only outlaw this, but then let’s make them a sex offender at the same time. The amendment is neither here nor there at this point..... it

NEVER should have gotten to this point. I guess when the National Guard does their 2 week training every year they now should be towing a porta

potty behind the artillery equipment. If we are to have a better Virginia than we need to have a Virginia that is not mired down in these ridiculous money making laws that are solely designed to generate revenue and saddle the average weekend camper/fisher/hunter with so many laws they will need to have a

”Philadelphia 

Generator use should only be banned during quiet hours.

Not allowing generator use during normal hours is a bureaucratic decision made by people who are clueless. You are discriminating against RV’s who need to recharge batteries and losing a large user base.

If the sole purpose of banning generators is either for noise or air pollution, then you should specify gas generators only.  Why not allow solar-powered generators?

Prohibiting generators will likely create it's own liability and over-spending problems when 911 calls come in for medical issues.

As an advid camper in the state of VA, I believe that campers should not be penalized for urinating  privately in the woods if needed.  It is excessive and outrageous to mark a camper as a sex offender for having to relieve oneself in nature.  I would say campers in general are very courteous people, and of the population, very kind to nature and respectful of it.

people, and of the population, most careful with nature. Really? Must you impose this on us?  

As I type this message, it is after 4 AM.  I was awakened by a persistent bladder that couldn't wait until the alarm clock went off.  To learn that Virginia lawmakers continue to make a natural bodily function a punishable crime is downright insensitive.  A sex offender?  REALLY?  Who thinks of this stuff?  Obviously this law was created by someone who wears Depends. 

I am disappointed to learn of the new generator regulation. We love frequenting our state parks, but with children that require daily nebulizer treatments, easy access to electricity is a must. I would hate to not be able to continue use of our great parks simply because we cannot utilize our own electricity. We have tried using the nebulizer in the office in the past and it is too much of a distraction for our kids to benefit.  

Could state lawmakers please go for an overnight hike to one of our beautiful state parks and tell me they can hold their need for the bathroom when there is no facility in site for miles? If you are going to enforce the urinating in public rule, you need to experience the hike/ campout without a facility or build facilities along the path at the large parks. Otherwise reword the rule when there is blatant indecency,  like urinating on the path, not in private.

I understand Generators can be lound and annoying, but if you are not going to allow Generators parks should provide outlets for rv and campers. I also understand the cost associated with running power to each campsite, so maybe compromise and only allow inverter Generators that are much quieter. 

We have family that is both terminally ill and that has medically required equipment that needs to be with them 24/7. Some of their equipment would require the use of a generator if something were to happen to the battery.

I have been camping for years and during that time several camp grounds including state parks have had issue with power sources from time to time. We have needed to use our generator to ensure the oxygen takes were good to go, the camper was cool enough for my dad, even to charge his scooter so he could get around when he was able to walk .

I also had very small children or babies that needed to stay cool or warmer depending on the months. Not all of us tent camp and we select to bring smaller or elder family to enjoy nature but realize they may have different needs and may need the use of a generator if the power source were to ever to compromised .

Those who do camp tent should have the same right to stay comfortable and enjoy nature at the same time . That’s what the restricted hours are for.

Banning the removal of "fungi" should not be a part of this Action.  Instead, it should be added to the section that Allows the removal of edible fruits, berries and nuts.  The language should include allowing the picking of edible mushrooms for personal consumption. The mushroom is essentially the fruiting body of the fungi.  Removing the mushroom does not harm the mycelium which is the "body" of the organism.  As a Virginian I have an stake in these lands and believe that the general public should be allowed this opportunity.

The addition of fungi to items not allowed to be removed from the park shows a lack of understanding of biology. Picking certain fungi for personal use/consumption is no different than picking a blueberry. Fungi fruit from mycelium like a blueberry fruits on a blueberry bush. Most fungi are mycorrhizal meaning the grow in symbiotic relationship with trees, tree roots specifically. Picking a mushroom does no damage to the mycelium, the living organism. All picking does really is spread spores of that mushroom. The mycelium is still there underground and living. Foraging for mushrooms is a lifestyle the exact same lifestyle as hunting or fishing. Hunting and fishing are protected by state law. The ban on removal of fungi from state parks is short sided and not biologically sound.

So are you guys trying to get less people to come busy the state parks!!!

On the removing of fungi and mushrooms.... Really.... Yet you allow the removal of fruits and berries. Do you realize that the party of the mushroom/fungi that you see is the fruit of the fungi???

Picking the part you see in no way damages, harms, or effects the actual organism. I can't even understand why you would instate this small minded rule.

And!!! Generators!!! Why?? You really are trying decrease the amount of visitors to the parks then this will do it.

What you see is the fruiting body of the fungi. It's removal does not harm the organism (mycelium) in any way nor does it harm the future propagation. Research had shown this.

Please consult a mycologist... they will confirm this.

Mushrooms are no different than fruit or nuts.  They are the reproductive parts of the fungi and collection can actually be beneficial.

I would like to know the reason behind the band of generators? A lot of people need them for medical reasons. Ours is so quite that you can not even hear it run, and it is environmental friendly. This is sad and I am sure a lot of people are going to start camping at other locations. I love VA state parks but this new rule is absurd. 

We camp a lot at the Va state parks and we love them. We don't always need a generator but when we do it is nice to have that option. What is the reason for not allowing them anymore? I think a lot of business is going to be lost, people will go else where to camp... sad.

I am appalled that Virginia is considering further restrictions on foraging and harvesting of fungi within state parklands.  This activity causes no harm to those lands, which are supposedly set aside for public use and recreation.  Prohibiting individual fungi foraging has no adverse impacts on conservation.  Please reconsider this ill-conceived regulation!

As others have noted, mushrooms are the fruiting body of fungi. As such, collection of mushrooms should not be outright prohibited but instead treated the same as edible berries, nuts, etc.; allow collection of edible mushrooms for the purpose of personal consumption. Thanks.

Please reconsider the ban on mushroom collection in State Parks.  The portion of mushrooms collected in almost all cases is the fruiting body of the fungus, and picking does not have a detrimental effect on the life cycle. The critical main mass of the living fungus is safely underground.  There are arguments, in fact, that picking a sporing mushroom can help spread spores over a greater range, increasing local populations.  Mushrooming is an increasingly popular recreation and food source, similar to hunting or fishing or picking fruits, that attracts participants to parks. 

This is an absurd and unnecessary rule that fails to give due consideration to basic human needs.  I am a survivor of bladder cancer that has left me with an urgency to urinate that does not always allow me to get to an 'appropriate facility'.  Further, to make a violator register as a sex offender is absolutely absurd!  Since when did the need to relieve one's self take on sexual overtones?  Please reconsider this ill-conceived change to regulations.

Allowing ebikes is dangerous.  Some are significantly heavier and much faster the regular bikes.  Riders often don't slow down as it seems unintuitive to them vs when pedaling.  I have personally been nearly struck several times as clueless ebikes barreled down the pathway.  Would you allow small moterbikes?  Clearly not.  Consider speed limits on ebikes.

Makes no sense that you would make a new provision to allow berry picking for personal use but stop allowing mushroom picking?! They are both just the fruiting bodies of the plant. Removal does not harm the organism (mycelium) at all nor does it harm the future propagation. Make a provision for personal use of mushroom foraging.

As far as no generators at campgrounds - as a tent camper i love this and wish other places would require the same. As an RV owner, it's annoying but not impossible to deal with. So either way, I support the lack of gross emission smells, noise and potential sparks.

While I applaud you for some of the proposed changes to State Parks regulations that are due to take effect I can not agree to a ban of the foraging for fungi and mushrooms in particular. The picked mushroom is just as much of a fruiting body as any nut or berry that is now to be allowed to harvested in the parks for personal use. I find these two changes to be contradictory of each other and incognizant.

I am for the use of generators and the harvest of mushrooms.  

And for the life of me I can’t see why one peeing privately in a wooded area can be anyway overlapped with all the other horrible acts that would get someone on a sex offender list. To me this just waters down the severity of the sex offender list and makes me question how many people on this list should actually be there. 

Please add mushrooms to the other edibles (fruits, nuts, berries etc) that are allowed to be collected for personal use.  The portion harvested is called the fruiting body of the mycelium and is the equivalent of fruit from a tree.

Please do not make unnecessary changes to the policy of urination in the parks.  This is a waste of taxpayer dollars for something that is a non-issue.  Obviously if someone is in the middle of Skyline Drive or a scenic overlook that is a different matter but a discrete location in the trees is not worth labeling as a sex offender.  Some people, be they 3, 30, or 60 can’t necessarily hold it until they reach a facility.

I do not support the regulation to not allow the removal of fungi on state parks. This does not hurt the surrounding forest in any way if anything it helps spread the fungal spores when they're carried around. I understand such items as artifacts and gyms those thing don't return once the are removed, Fungi that is picked is no more than a fruiting body of the mycelium that is growing underground or in a piece of wood, picking the fruit of it is now different than picking berries or nuts from trees and shrubs so adding it to the list of such items as gyms and artifacts makes no since. It is already illegal to commercially harvest fungi on public property so I don't see that as being in play. If the issue is at all some kind of outside commercial value like a paid foray then ban those. There is no reason to completely ban fungi foraging on state forest if the is no harm to the environment and or surrounding areas. If anything you will lose revenue to this because us that do forage will go somewhere else and have no reason to come there. Please reconsider this new regulation. Thanks for your time!

I agree with the addition to 4VAC5-30-95. Just because you are in a wooded area, doesn't give you the right to use the bathroom where ever you please. If you are going to a State Park, you should use the necessary precautions to make sure you aren't seen. I think 200ft is appropriate. 200ft is only about 80 steps from a trail or campground, which isn't inconvenient for hikers or campers. From personal experience of camping long periods in the woods, I always went out of my way to make sure someone didn't see me or come across my bodily fluids. Especially with defecation... just dig a hole and cover it up.