BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — Trash is being found in some of Idaho's most beautiful areas. And Wednesday, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) called for action.
One access site is Indian Creek Reservoir by the Boise Stage Stop.
Everything from dresser drawers and Styrofoam to bottles are dumped there. And it's more than just an eyesore, it's illegal.
There's not much out there but Mother Nature herself, and that's how the IDFG wants to keep it. But people have been bringing a very unwanted addition to the place: garbage.
Trash litters the ground around the Indian Creek Reservoir near Boise.
"To me, it seems like a shame that people are disrespecting the environment that way," said Joshua Rogers, an Idaho native.
It's not just a problem for sportsmen, but for IDFG employees as well. In 2019, the department saw more than a dozen illegal dumps in the southwest region of Idaho.
They say each dumpsite takes a day to clean.
"The main thing is this is an illegal activity, and it's punishable by jail time and up to a $1000 fine," said John Cassinelli for IDFG. "There's appropriate places to do this kind of dumping and put this trash, and that's in a landfill."
Every type of trash you can think of can be found at the dumping area.
"We've got our COs, our conservation officers, and we've done some camera work at a lot of our sites where we've had repeat problems to try to see if we can catch people in the act," Cassinelli said.
But not everyone needs security cameras or law enforcement to stop them from littering. Some people do pack out what they pack in simply for love of nature.
"I grew up in Idaho my whole life and enjoy hunting and fishing," said Rogers. "It's a shame to be hiking out in the wilderness and find other people's trash that they've left behind."
The site will be the latest to get cleaned by IDFG workers.
They hope to stock more fish in the reservoir, but to attract fishermen, they say trash must be kept at bay.
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