The trashing of our public lands.

“perhaps it will help spread the word that this sort of behavior is unacceptable.”

I see the issue differently. I see campers trying to properly dispose of their trash and the USFS not emptying trash bins, how few people they have and crying about money. Start charging if necessary to fund removal. The BLM campgrounds I frequent do empty their bins.

good read, I fish a lot and our lakes have the same problem.

Sickening, but some of the trash described doesn't sound like RV'er/Camper type trash, "full size couches,love seats, chairs, stoves" sounds more like locals using the place for a free dump site rather than paying for refuse collection, or paying to haul it to a landfill.
Don't get me wrong, I know some campers can be outright slobs, but they don't generally through away that sort of trash.
I've never been to this Forest but maybe a little technology might help a little, like cameras, even game cams.

I didn't read the whole article but I get the gist of the issue. There are just WAY too many people that could give a Rat's *** about anyone except themselves and there are even some people that don't care about themselves either! Therefore they don't care about public lands and what happens to them. they're going to break things and leave their trash behind because nothing will happen to them. Unfortunately, their deeds go unpunished most of the time and not many will confront them if they see it happen because they fear getting beat up or worse and by the time people report things, the culprits are long gone.

When I took my grand children out to ride quads, I would hand them a large trash bag. I would have them fill it before we leave. I only had to explain why one time........Some people live this way. You don't.

Probably most of the problem is the All About Me people bringing trash from home for free disposal.
The rest are just filthy hogs.

Yes the trashing of America is gonna continue UNTIL the government steps in and starts making trash disposal, recycling, energy conservation subjects that need to be taught to the public; won’t stop 100% of problems but will start to minimize the issues. Also companies need to look into packaging and how their products are winding up in places other than the garbage dump/recycling center.... We live on the road & camphost so we are very aware of this issue.

Remember back in the day when there were commercials on TV about trash. One that comes to mind is the Native American standing on the side of the road and trash being thrown out of a car at his feet and he would have a tear running down his face. One other point is it isn't always going to be a camper or hiker or even some person that wants to throw their junk away at no cost. Many times in my career I investigated illegal dumping and quite often I would find envelopes with names and addresses on them. When I interviewed those people, I would learn that they hired a local handyman to take their trash to the landfill and instead of disposing of the trash properly, they would throw it out on the side of the road to avoid having to pay to dump it. They would have no idea their trash was littered along the highway or public lands.

RobWNY wrote:
I didn't read the whole article but I get the gist of the issue. There are just WAY too many people that could give a Rat's *** about anyone except themselves and there are even some people that don't care about themselves either! Therefore they don't care about public lands and what happens to them. they're going to break things and leave their trash behind because nothing will happen to them. Unfortunately, their deeds go unpunished most of the time and not many will confront them if they see it happen because they fear getting beat up or worse and by the time people report things, the culprits are long gone.

This was my first thought ^^. I grew up in the Lincoln National Forest and never saw any campers or outdoorsmen/women behave like this. The type of trash in the photos looks much more like household garbage left there by people who are too cheap to pay for trash service at home. If I see things like this happening, I take a photo of the license plate and give it to local authorities.

Rob

Saw it at one of the few facilities on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Bathrooms were over flowing too. Lot of people enjoying our natural treasures but..Also saw garbage bags in the dumpsters and in cans.Apparently some locals don't want to pay to have their garbage hauled away. One stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway looks like New York City, so to speak, just short distance from the Parkway. State Forest found a large dump where they were letting Residents in the area and some not so close in dump roofing shingles, garbage and everything else. I haven't noticed it in the Smokiesbut it has been a while since we visited it.