Ohioans For Concealed Carry Discussion Forums

We just arrived at the campground. Bathrooms are posted.

Anyone know the best person to email at parks? ODNR itself or the park?

You probably shouldn't make a fuss.......just ignore it.

I'd talk to the park officials first. In person if you have the time. People can ignore e-mails for days or weeks, a tad harder to blow people off when face-to-face. Got a copy of the Attorney General guidebook?

pirateguy191 wrote:You probably shouldn't make a fuss.......just ignore it.

Javelin Man wrote:

pirateguy191 wrote:You probably shouldn't make a fuss.......just ignore it.

Yeah, I heard that suggestion from someone who I think is a lawyer, so it must be legit.

Hope you don't get shot !!


On a serious note, I would ask ODNR.

Actually, I just asked them on their FB page, but you should contact them on your own, also.

Did you make contact with anyone, Mustang?

Not yet. We are busy doing camper things. I will try after the weekend.

You could always do like I did a few years ago, write a letter to ODNR chief with copies to park manager, State Parks manager, and governor.

OhioPaints wrote:You could always do like I did a few years ago, write a letter to ODNR chief with copies to park manager, State Parks manager, and governor.

What led you to do that? Unlawful signage? Where? Hopefully not Salt Fork State Park, that would mean they didn't pay you much heed.

Mustang380gal wrote:Not yet. We are busy doing camper things. I will try after the weekend.

Make sure that the campgrounds aren't under Corps of Engineers jurisdiction. I do believe that some are.

schmieg wrote:

Mustang380gal wrote:Not yet. We are busy doing camper things. I will try after the weekend.

Make sure that the campgrounds aren't under Corps of Engineers jurisdiction. I do believe that some are.

That's a twist I'd sort of forgotten about. Army Corps of Engineers seems to have jurisdiction near the lakes themselves. At least the ones that have CoE dams at one end. It's obviously more gray area than clear. Because of their span of control being so hard to figure out, I just stay off the dams themselves while carrying. That's actually pretty easy to do.

Brian D. wrote:

schmieg wrote:

Mustang380gal wrote:Not yet. We are busy doing camper things. I will try after the weekend.

Make sure that the campgrounds aren't under Corps of Engineers jurisdiction. I do believe that some are.

That's a twist I'd sort of forgotten about. Army Corps of Engineers seems to have jurisdiction near the lakes themselves. At least the ones that have CoE dams at one end. It's obviously more gray area than clear. Because of their span of control being so hard to figure out, I just stay off the dams themselves while carrying. That's actually pretty easy to do.

I do recall some discussion a couple of years ago about a campground at a park being located near the dam and which was under CoE control. Just can't recall which one anymore. Actually, I'm having trouble recalling what I had for lunch.

Brian D. wrote: That's a twist I'd sort of forgotten about. Army Corps of Engineers seems to have jurisdiction near the lakes themselves. At least the ones that have CoE dams at one end. It's obviously more gray area than clear. Because of their span of control being so hard to figure out, I just stay off the dams themselves while carrying. That's actually pretty easy to do.

Almost all of the flood control dams/lakes are owned by Corps of Engineers and most of the land is leased to the state except the dam area. However, down in Ky/Tenn, many of the campgrounds on Dale Hallow, Lake Cumberland, etc. are COE campgrounds and firearms are prohibited. (There was discussion a few years ago on the Tenn Concealed Carry board about all of this and I do not know if anything has changed.)

The good news is that AFAIK in Ohio, there are no COE police to enforce their rules which is good because it is often difficult or impossible to know where the boundaries are.

What is unique about CoE managed lakes? I believe that all lakes under the Muskingum Watershed are CoE. All of the service and (I think) ranger vehicles have OH state plates on them.

scottb wrote:What is unique about CoE managed lakes? I believe that all lakes under the Muskingum Watershed are CoE. All of the service and (I think) ranger vehicles have OH state plates on them.

COE leases part of the land to state parks and they administer it and it falls under Ohio law and law enforcement (park rangers)

However, most dams and some other areas might not be leased to the state and remain under Army control. COE generally does not allow firearms except for hunting. It would take a change in rules at the top of COE to change that, just like the National Park Service changed their rules a few years back.

Somewhat related, it really gets confusing with the National Recreation Areas (Cuyahoga Valley, Big South Fork, etc.) Some are under US Forest Service jurisdiction, some under National Parks jurisdiction and some under COE. Firearms regulations depend on the administering agency. Visitor have to understand that.