Virtual community meeting planned ahead of Rainbow Family Gathering in Routt County

The Routt National Forest will host a virtual community meeting about an upcoming and controversial gathering near Adams Park. The Rainbow Family Gathering is apparently set to occur in the backcountry on the Hahns Peak/Bears Ears Ranger District.

The gathering tends to attract thousands of people with similar perspectives of peace, love and community. This year's gathering commemorates the 50th anniversary.

Forest Service officials say the highest number of people are expected during the first week of July. In 2006, the group camped in Routt County resulting in hundreds of tickets for drug violations and illegal camping. The group also visited Colorado in 1972 when they camped near Strawberry Lake on the Arapaho National Forest.

Officials say participants have already started to arrive.

"The USDA Forest Service has mobilized a national incident management team with experience managing these types of incidents. The team works closely with the local community, including law enforcement agencies, throughout the incident to protect the health and safety of everyone involved, and to lessen environmental impacts to the site by providing information and enforcing laws," a news release stated.

After a number of destructive wildfires, some Coloradans are concerned a gathering of that magnitude is too big of a risk.

"The idea of cleaning up after ourselves is kind of part of the cultural DNA of the Rainbow Family," Gary Stubbs told CBS4's Conor McCue, who plans to attends this year's event. "We couldn't imagine going someplace and not cleaning up after ourselves."

The agency will hear concerns from the public during a virtual meeting at 6 p.m. on June 21.

"We share your concerns regarding the incident affecting the surrounding communities and invite you to the public meeting to learn more about the gathering and how the Forest Service will be managing it," said Russ Bacon, Forest Supervisor for the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests and Thunder Basin National Grassland.