Teenage revelers leaving trash on public lands

Teenage revelers leaving trash on public lands

Mar. 27, 2001

THIS SNOWMOBILE turnaround at the end of County Road 42 on the San Juan National Forest has been the site of some youthful partying recently. Forest Service officials have complained that they frequently have to clean up trash, such as liquor bottles and the partially burned pallets shown above, at a couple of favorite "woodsy" sites.

By Aspen C. Emmett
Journal Staff Writer

Wild animals are not the only ones coming out of hibernation on the San Juan National Forest these days. Youthful party-goers are also frequenting the parks — and leaving behind their trash.

"The snow is melting and it’s more comfortable at night," said Forest Service law-enforcement officer Patrick Brown on Monday. "The messes just started showing up this past week."

Brown said that since the weather has begun to warm up, young people have started throwing parties at the turn-around points at the end of County Road 42 near Transfer Campground and Road 44 in Echo Basin.

"For the wintertime we put a gate up and the county snowplows a little turnout, so people can drop their snowmobiles and go behind the gate and can ride up and down all the roads," Brown said.

However, the turnaround points have turned into junky party sites recently, with charred wooden pallets with nails and beer bottles left strewn about. Brown said he has received calls from landowners in the area who complained about the parties and said that most of the people in attendance are minors.

"They’re allowed to be out there," Brown said. "But if they’re underage they’re not allowed to be possessing any alcohol. It’s what they leave when they’re gone — they should take all their trash with them and it’s against regulations to leave it behind."

"The forest is for everyone, not just for them."

— Patrick Brown

Brown said he has adjusted his patrol schedule to address the problem and hopes to catch some of the offenders to curb the littering and underage drinking. Although littering is punishable by fines, because it is at the discretion of the officer, Brown plans to take offenders before a judge and ask for community service.

"With a fine, a lot of the time you find that the parents pay the fines. Sure, they get onto them, but I believe getting them out here and cleaning it up gives them more of an interest in what the problem is."

If the offenders are underage drinkers, they will also be ticketed accordingly.

In the meantime, Brown said Forest Service employees and residents of the area are stuck with the chore of picking up after the parties.

"Every year we’ve been cleaning up after it," Brown said. "We’re really getting tired of cleaning up after the messes."

Monitoring the parties and disposing of the debris, Brown said, has become a burden on an already-limited staff with more than enough to do.

"The more trash I find, the more I have to prioritize this as a major problem," Brown said. "The less trash I have to deal with, the more I can focus on other things. We’re not here as the trash department. The forest is for everyone, not just for them. If they respect the forest, they won’t have a problem with us."