Clean up your mess!!!

[1bigmess]

When I[ve picked up trash on public lands, I've contacted the responsible agency and often been able to dispose of the trash in their dumpsters, and then thrown mine in as well, which is very little to begin with.

I got an old fridge off the edge of a wildlife refuge I live near a few years ago, and called them to ask if I could put it in their dumpster. They came and got it from me and told me they would take it to a facility to make sure any refrigerant still inside was captured then dispose of all of it properly. They didn't know it was there.

I know that the agencies know that dumping is taking place, but sometimes just don't know *where*. I think that's why we find it before they do?

[Dan McMartin]

This is what happens with a big influx of new folks all at once. I remember after "A River Runs Through It" came out. Suddenly every Joe Sixpack had an $800 Orvis rod and $400 Simms waders. They had little understanding of the etiquette and courtesy those of us who'd been fly fishing for many years before the craze hit practiced, not to mention nature itself.

Sure, they'd release their catch but most were from urban areas and I guess they thought the garbage man would be by later to pick up after them. Some of them moved on to another fad and others were indoctrinated one way or another.

Same here. Lot's of new RVers. They don't know the "rules" yet. Some will learn. Others will buy a house after the realities of living in a RV they weren't aware of or prepared for set in. Hopefully, that happens before it's all ruined for those of us left.

[lwmcguire]

I walk our Westie in a couple real nice areas and one is near the Branson Landing. On many occasions I see mostly 40 ish and down folks let there dogs out and never even attempt to clean up. They just look the other way and get the dog back in the car. That is a sad trend and probably the same bunch leaving the trash in the camping sites. Maybe peer pressure will eventually change the trashy trend.

[Dan McMartin]

Originally Posted by lwmcguire

I walk our Westie in a couple real nice areas and one is near the Branson Landing. On many occasions I see mostly 40 ish and down folks let there dogs out and never even attempt to clean up. They just look the other way and get the dog back in the car. That is a sad trend and probably the same bunch leaving the trash in the camping sites. Maybe peer pressure will eventually change the trashy trend.

What we've been seeing is that folks bag their dog's poop but they just leave the bags laying around. It's like they read the signs that tell them to bag the poop, so they do, but the signs usually don't also explicitly direct them to also take it with them and throw it in the trash, so they don't. Maybe they think the city or ranger will be by later to gather them up. Who knows but throwing it away after bagging it seems kind of implied to me?

[twogypsies]

Originally Posted by Dan McMartin

What we've been seeing is that folks bag their dog's poop but they just leave the bags laying around. It's like they read the signs that tell them to bag the poop, so they do, but the signs usually don't also explicitly direct them to also take it with them and throw it in the trash, so they don't. Maybe they think the city or ranger will be by later to gather them up. Who knows but throwing it away after bagging it seems kind of implied to me?

… yes, especially on trails. Some bag it & toss the bag off the trail so they don't have to carry it. Dog ownership requires a little work! They should realize that probably 'someone else' will pick it up and return it to a trash can at the end of the trail. Some folks are more conscientious than others. We've done our share of picking them up and we don't even have a dog.

[Graybyrd]

It ain't new, and it ain't goin' away, folks. So, consider that there are two kinds of people: them who drop cigarette butts in the urinal, and them who resign themselves to fish 'em out. (Sorry if that's a bit too graphic, so try the sanitized version: there's people who trash up the campsites, and people who come along and clean it up. Okay?)

Years ago I took part in a canoe excursion down the little Jordan River at the south end of Utah Lake. Now, nobody in that area had ever paid much attention to that small stream. It was a "show me" trip: homeowners all along both sides of the Jordan had used it as a dump. We saw refrigerators, car bodies, mattresses, shopping carts, and all shapes and sizes of castoff crap. People just walked to their back fence and gave it a heave. The trip was to spark interest in the fact that the Jordan River could be cleaned up and restored to a nice canoeing/fishing stream; and to document the need to "educate" the local folks that turning their living space to a trash heap wasn't cool.

Later years in central Idaho we had a series of hot springs along the main Salmon River. Local folks knew the locations (some were obscure & remote). One year we had an open pit mine open up and a horde of hard-rock drillers came to town. Within weeks, they'd discovered one of the nicer hot springs in a secluded field on a private ranch. We locals knew of it, and the rancher was 'neighborly' and let everyone use it. So the drillers took girlfriends, beer, and raised hell. When done, they'd smashed all the glass bottles in the hot pools. We locals had to wade in and clean it all up, or lose a precious late-night soaking spot.

And lose some, we did. The state DOT damned near got itself lynched when they "improved" Hwy 75 'tween Challis and Salmon, ID and filled in a riverside hot pool with boulders and gravel. It had been a favorite place to soak off a night of over-indulgence. Years later, local folks still threatened to invade Boise with torches, pots of tar, and feathers. The DOT proclaimed the roadside spot to be a "nuisance" to be eliminated. Authorities need little to no excuse to eliminate an inconvenience (for themselves).

So the moral of the story is: there's two types of people... which kind are you? Or would you rather lose a precious spot?

(Take gloves and heavy-duty trash bags on every outing, and photos to document it if it would be helpful to impress the land managers.)

[ByeTheWay]

For me, trash is an easy fix. But negativity just keeps going. It is even the main focus of the Media!!! Been several years since I watched national or local news.


So in the big picture which is worse Trash or Traveling around in a big motor homes that may get 10 mpg on a good day?

[beenthere]

maybe signs with monitored surveillance, any trash left or such will be prosecuted.or something to the sort. it would keep the so called honest people in line. better than nothing. fake cameras are cheap I used em in my store.

[BluWave]

We have the same problem on our beaches. People leaving their trash behind when they go home. We're not too shy to let them they need to clean up after themselves when we catch them. Frustrating to say the least. Logical sense, that's all.

[WorldCat25]

Originally Posted by Graybyrd

And lose some, we did. The state DOT damned near got itself lynched when they "improved" Hwy 75 'tween Challis and Salmon, ID and filled in a riverside hot pool with boulders and gravel. It had been a favorite place to soak off a night of over-indulgence. Years later, local folks still threatened to invade Boise with torches, pots of tar, and feathers.

Is this the place?



This picture is from 1977. What a great place. Sorry to hear this happened.

[TonyMac]

"So in the big picture which is worse Trash or Traveling around in a big motor homes that may get 10 mpg on a good day?"


Uhmm, trash, by such a long shot a person with even a mediocre intellect could rationally conclude such. And my big motorhome gets 8.5 mpg.

[lwmcguire]

Originally Posted by ByeTheWay

For me, trash is an easy fix. But negativity just keeps going. It is even the main focus of the Media!!! Been several years since I watched national or local news.


So in the big picture which is worse Trash or Traveling around in a big motor homes that may get 10 mpg on a good day?

[Mod Edit]

There is nothing good about trash, garbage, or feces lying around

[Ray,IN]

Regrettably preaching to the choir doesn't help anything; becoming an active advocate of "leaving it cleaner than you found it" is the only practical recourse.
No-one can change the slobs, they must care first.

[jwb2]

Ito pick up after people the problem is not just in the parks and forest Look around at your own towns the problem is no respect for others or their self we need to demand that the laws that are on the books be enforced and make people pay for being nasty If you ever rented property you will know what i am talking about