This land is your land – this land is my land. Well, for one man in Douglas County, Oregon, your land, in his opinion, is HIS land. And for four long years, a feisty and recalcitrant travel trailer dweller has been holed up on a 600-acre chunk of public land managed by the BLM (Bureau of Land Management). The man claims BLM land is his, but now it just may be that “It’s all over but the shoutin’.”
Man claims BLM land is his own
Back in 2021, BLM officials noted that Jeremy Yow, now 50 years old, had done more than just set up camp on public land. Yow claimed the property near Azalea, Oregon, belonged to him. To reinforce the claims, Yow built fences, chopped down trees, even put up a mailbox with his name on it.
Douglas County sheriff’s deputies paid Yow a visit, letting him know that staying on BLM land for more than two weeks in a 90-day period wasn’t legal. In July 2021 they came back and took Yow to jail, charging him with a host of violations, including unlawful timber cutting, criminal mischief, and “offensive littering,” among other charges. As soon as he was released from the lockup, Jeremy Yow went right back to the same spot and dug in deeper.
Yow gained notoriety on the land he claimed was his own. When members of the public dared stray too close to Yow on public lands, Yow allegedly threatened them. To keep out the riff-raff members of the public, Yow built himself a gate blocking a public road. Court filings describe Yow’s actions as a “nuisance,” including building up a large amount of trash near a river.
After four years, law enforcement returns
Last June, a BLM ranger and a county deputy tried to have a chat with Yow. Court records indicate that when the law enforcement officials turned up, Yow grabbed a piece of pipe and also threatened to shoot them. They took a less confrontational approach and left him. But earlier this month, law enforcement came back—this time with a plan in mind. They issued a trespassing notice, giving Yow 72 hours to vacate the land.
This Monday, October 28, law enforcement officials returned. Not only had Yow not moved along, he was as cantankerous as ever. Yow refused to come out of his trailer. When he eventually did, he confronted the officers with metal pipes and, once again, threatened to kill them. A fracas broke out and, in the end, Jeremy Yow was downed with a taser. A search of Yow’s person turned up a homebrew gun equipped with a .45 caliber bullet.
Yow, the man that claims BLM land is his own, was charged with more than a dozen crimes including obstructing the government, menacing, unlawful use of a weapon, unlawful cutting of forest products, and resisting arrest. He is scheduled to next appear in court on November 4. In the meantime, Yow is in custody. No word on whether he plans on claiming the jail is his own property.
##RVT1181b
Far too many whack- jobs running around loose nowadays…wonder if this one was trying the ‘sovereign citizen’ BS angle.
That was my first thought also, Rich.🙄 Have a good evening. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
My same thoughts as well.
!!!
Army boot camp for this clown…better yet Marines…they give free haircuts…and you can claim your own fox hole.
50 years old is too old for military service, especially the Marines. How about a chain gang? A stellar looking citizen, no?
How about some mental health help and some psych meds?
I love the last line of this article. It made me smile.
4 Years???? There’s government in action for you.
That’s what I was thinking. Why in the h_ ll did it take so long for the authorities to act?
Where is his GoFundMe page? This is great entertainment.
😂
I have to agree. This article made me smile, kinda love this guy just for the display of moxy and entertainment.
More mental health issues than moxy.
Smile all you want but it’s public land being abused and trashed. May it happen to your favorite government recreation area.
As it turns out, the entire country is my favorite recreation area, so I guess now that we have watched hundreds of billions of dollars of damages to our nation and parks for 4 years I too have been affected. Several hundred thousand avoidable deaths, cities burning, 401ks decimated, wealth lost, families destroyed and crime legalized. Forgive me for having a laugh at this story about a mentally impaired individual trying to annex a plot BLM land, homestead it, build a fence with a gate and leave a pile of trash. It is emblematic of the national situation brought on by another mentally impaired man. Real life provides the best comedy, you cant make this stuff up.
Just last four years? Or the four years between 2016 & 2020?
You tell me.
1. 325,000 children sold into skin trade slavery in the last 4 years IN AMERICA.
Your turn How many in the previous 4?
2. 20,000 migrants in a city of 50,000 people in Ohio.
Your turn again. What’s your equivalent in the previous 4 years?
3. Venezuelan gangs taking over apt buildings in Co.
Your turn again…..?
4. Over 900,000 new jobs revised down this year, evaporated. Never existed.
Your up to bat again…..
Wanna keep going?
Seriously 😳…please give me an example of how your life is better now and how it was worse then? I know…you don’t have one. 🙄
To all the thumbs down voters please tell me why? Every word is true! Humor is still alive and well even though many are trying to silence it! 🇺🇸
Nothin but joy here…🤸♀️🤸😁
Several hundred thousand avoidable deaths? Where’s that statistic from? And if your 401k has been decimated then you’re doing something wrong. Stock market is at record highs and the guaranteed % portion of my investments are doing quite well.
Think about that before you rent out your RV, house or land.
It took 4 years for BLM to clear an obvious and undeniable squatter.
Imagine if he used your rig to squat in. You’d not only get junk back but you’d probably get hit with the removal and impound fee. Yikes!
And the Bundy’s are still doing the same
Open range grazing access rights is not quite the same thing.
Where’s a good “mental institution” when you need one?
We dont have them anymore but if we can export our patients, several are now empty and available in Central America and South America. Only because they are emptied out and those patients are now living here.
We have the same problem in Deschutes County Oregon. Some of the squatters have been on the BLM close to town for years. Many of the fires this past summer originated in the camps. The trash is overwhelming and no agency wants to deal with the issue.
Millions of dollars are spent each year fighting fires but there is no money to police the BLM?
That is Oregon…the reason I left Portland 7 years ago.
This is part of the reason why BLM and USFS are closing campgrounds and LTVAs. BLM will have to spend thousands of dollars to cleanup his mess. No wonder we can’t have nice things.
People seem to forget that BLM land is meant to recreate on, not reside on. Yet, every day I see people on FB bragging about “living” for free on BLM land in their vans and RVs.
Most do it legally, the right way, staying 14 days and moving 25 miles. Unless they stay in the long term visitor area that they pay for. I know people that live the entire year just staying in campgrounds a few times. Some move in caravans of 10 to 14 for support and security.
Yow can claim the jail, only inside one cell, a guard gets the keys.
Please don’t call this squatter an RV’er.
He’s taking advantage of the taxpayers and you folks who enjoy the outdoors and are good stewards of the public lands. Some need help but many are living this Mad Max existence by choice and taking no responsibility for the damage to our forests. Write to your BLM offices and insist they enforce their own rules before we lose access to public lands.
40 acres and a mule I can understand.
Mental health Issues? I am in no means liberal but think there may be a better approach then spending $1000s to lock him up for a few years only to release him to go back and do the same thing.
Thank you, Russ and Tina! Well, I guess that he figured that he’d file a claim (where did that land office go?) and homestead a few (hundred) acres. You certainly cannot cite him for not trying. 😉 Have a great week and safe travels!