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BOUNTIFUL — The U.S. Forest Service and Davis County Sheriff’s Office Wednesday were trying to figure out who left behind a huge mess far above the Bountiful “B,” as they pleaded with others to pack out their garbage this summer.
The site, located in an open patch of grass down a hill from Skyline Drive, was found littered with rotting food, human waste, tents, tarps, fuel tablets, bleach, medicines, clothing and even lingerie.
“Actually, (this is the) first time I’ve seen lingerie strapped to a tree,” U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement Officer Brandon Robinson said. “It’s just a terrible eyesore.”
Multiple pieces of lingerie and panties adorned several tree trunks and branches.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Davis County Sheriff’s Deputy Matt Boucher added. “And I don’t want to know.”
Both men said they did want to know who had stayed there, noting they had never seen anything like the badly-littered site before. The investigators said it was possible some of the trash at the site had been there since last November or December.
“If we’re able to find some type of identifying information that traces back to possible suspects, we do follow those leads out,” Robinson said.
Though the site stood out to the officers, they said littering and vandalism have been problems throughout the area.
Robinson pointed out a hillside near Dead Man’s Curve that appeared to have been used for target practice.
Remnants of a shot-out TV were left behind, and bullet casings and shotgun shells littered the ground. More casings and shells, along with food containers, were spotted in a stream that ran down the hillside.
“You can see how the trees – they’ve just died from the lead,” Robinson said, pointing to multiple shot-up trees that had collapsed.
Robinson and Boucher expected the problems to grow far worse in the coming months.
“This is every weekend, if not every day in the height of the summer,” Robinson said.
Boucher, who grew up in Davis County, said the broader area was the worst he had ever seen it.
“They’re leaving beer cans behind, they’re leaving all their trash,” Boucher said.
Robinson and Boucher said they hoped people would be mindful of their impact on the natural beauty of the forest as well as others trying to enjoy it, and they encouraged them to pack out everything they pack into the area.
“It has an impact on everybody – our future generations,” Boucher said. “It has an impact on the environment, and we want to keep this pristine for all of us.”
Anybody with information about the large collection of litter left at the site Robinson and Boucher highlighted was asked to call U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement at 801-733-2668.
