Any Rainbow Gathering is just an action taken independently by free individuals, exercising their right to free speech and assembly. No one person can represent the Rainbow Family, so no one person can legitimately sign a forest service permit for a gathering. For several years, seemingly to obstruct rainbow gatherings, the US Forest Service changed their rules so that any gathering of greater than 74 persons required a permit to be signed by a “responsible” person. The legal history of this can be found at http://www.bliss-fire.com/CourtCases.htm. In recent years, the forest service has accepted operating plans which are unsigned.
The best of these operating plans keep everything in verb form, and are titled “Free Speech and Assembly Event” to keep the focus on what is happening, and what people are doing, instead of referring to some fictitious legal entitity such as “The Rainbow Family”. Any one who walks onto the land, including Forest Service personnel are Rainbow Family, so it is nonsensical to include that term in these documents.
At the Michigan Regional in July 2015, an operation plan was developed in council with the forest service, and is linked below.
Michigan Regional 2015 Operation Plan
Other operation plans (sometimes called operating plans) from Pennsylvania 2010, and Montana 2013 are also included here.
Montana Annual 2013 Operating Plan
[…] Recent counsel agreements with the forest service on how to keep the land, water, and family protected, have been adopted by consensus in the form of operating agreements, several of which may be found at http://greatlakesrainbow.info/rainbow-raps/operation-plans-for-free-speech-and-free-assembly-gatheri… […]