Considerable attention has been paid to the most blatant barriers that public charter schools face. By lobbying against good charter legislation and fair funding, financing anti-charter studies and propaganda, filing lawsuits, and engaging the public battle of ideas, teacher unions and other charter opponents openly wage what might be called an "air war" against charters. But there is also evidence of a perhaps more damaging "ground war." Interviews with more than 400 charter school operators from coast to coast have revealed widespread localized combat--what one administrator called "bureaucratic sand" that is often hurled in the faces of charter schools. This bureaucratic resistance may take place at the school's inception, when it first looks to purchase a building and comply with municipal zoning laws. It may come when opponents play games with a school's transportation or funding, or when legal barriers are tossed in the way, or when false information about charter schools is widely disseminated. This kind of opposition makes daily operations more difficult, but many charter schools are thriving despite it. This article takes a look at the forces on the ground that would have it otherwise, and the myriad ways they attempt to stymie the charter school movement. (Contains 1 figure.)