Please consider this when voting to approve or deny the ability to carry concealed firearms in state forests. The numerous state forests are frequented by families, young people, elderly people, and hikers & bikers. They are using the state forests for all kinds of recreation and exercise, probably without realizing the danger they are or possibly may be in.

Most people assume there are safe when they are trekking about in the forest, however numerous instances of predatory attacks by both human and non-human attackers have been documented as recently as this week. Any predator seeks safe haven where they are themselves safe from attack but they may attack from with impunity, examples would be a mountain lion pouncing on a deer from above or cities like Washington D.C., New York, Chicago or San Francisco where their firearm regulations are abject failures having disarmed the citizens but not the predators. Predators always attack the defenseless or the weak, examples would be a pack of wolves going after a calf elk, or the Trailside Killer in California.

I believe the only common sense thing to do is allow concealed carry in state forests. Concealed carry will remove another safe haven from predators, not necessarily because everyone will be armed, but the possibility any person might be armed will remove the safety blanket from the predators and give it back to the people.

Thank you, Steve Baumbach

P.S. When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.