TAOS — Representatives of the Rainbow Family have been talking with Carson National Forest rangers about holding the group's July 2009 gathering near Tres Piedras.

Nothing is yet official, according to Dan Rael, resource staff officer for the national forest.

The choice of where the group will meet to pray for peace and honor the Earth has come down to either the Carson or Gila national forests, Rael said.

"We don't expect to know until they hold their spring council," Rael told The Taos News. "There have been scouts in both forests, and we've had monthly conference calls with representatives of the Rainbow Family."

About 18,000 participants came to an area behind San Antonio Mountain in 1995 for the annual weeklong gathering.

Members of the egalitarian, leaderless organization believe in intentional community building, nonviolence and alternative lifestyles, according to its Web site. In the past, Rainbow participants have resisted obtaining a U.S. Forest Service permit for gatherings of more than 75 people. They have said that no one can speak for the group, so no one is authorized to sign a permit.

However, Rael believes that negotiations will resolve that issue, and he expects that a "non-commercial group use permit" will be issued for the event with conditions on trash collection, drinking water, parking, latrines and other concerns.

"There is a big impact on the land," Rael said, "so the conditions of the permit are designed to address them."

In 1995, people remained for several months to "rehabilitate" the 100-plus acres that were used, Rael said. "There was a lot of work to do," he said.

At the 1995 and subsequent regional gatherings, local citizens have complained about begging, theft and loitering. In 2008, the regional gathering in the same location attracted armed deputies from the Río Arriba County Sheriff's Department, who were allegedly looking for people who were wanted for crimes.