When the U.S. Forest Service's budget shrinks, who pumps campground toilets?
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So the USFS and NPS could then hire private security companies to patrol the parks looking for people peeing and pooping behind trees, and arrest them, forcing them to pay huge fees to be released.
Maybe this could be a model for law enforcement all over America, actually: privatize all the police. People could just pay fines for whatever crime they've committed: $1000 for insulting the president, $10,000 for shoplifting, $10M for murder, etc.
this is exactly what you're supposed to do. even park rangers will tell you that.
Peeing behind a tree is fine, but that's a different matter.
This article is about the very remote, primitive campgrounds in national forests. I've camped in them, and in my experience the toilets are already nasty.
"The BTNF essentially hired Kosiba’s group, which could then contract out with other private companies. They agreed to do the job at about a third of that $120,000."
That's really not normal. What's going on in government spending?
Another ‘right way’ is to use a portable bidet, or a spray bottle. Not for everyone
A sharp enough fold-up shovel becomes necessary kit when dealing with compacted dry soil.
> I think it should be taught in schools.
If a solution involves 'If everyone would just X', it's very unlikely that actually 'everyone would just X', at least not without significant incentive. Education definitely has a role to play in making 'more people just X' by changing peoples' value judgements.
I do have a significant incentive to not leave my shit lying around, as I also want to go the forest in the future. Most people do.
Only some don't give a shit at all - the main problem here is simply not knowing how to behave if in the forest, if it never was shown to you. A proper toilet is the standard and expected. And when there is no toilet? Too embarrassing to even talk about .. so quick behind a bush, quick a piece of paper, has no one seen it? Now quick away and pretend it didn't happen. That is the usual modus operandi of civilized people feeling a natural desire in the woords. Simply getting a lesson in school would normalize it.
If camp toilets aren't an option the only real alternative in those areas will be to bring a wag bag or poop tube and pack it out.
The current fee for grazing, for example, is $1.35 monthly per head, up from $1.23... in 1966. Time for these rural users to start paying their fair share!
/s
I'm mostly kidding, but articles like this pretending that the major costs of running the USFS and other public lands are on rec. users instead of commercial drive me nuts. These public lands are used for commercial extractive purposes at a loss all. the. time. Why is federal spending on public lands so far down, while more americans than ever (proportional and absolute) are using these resources for recreation?
Just fund it properly at the legislative level, and then decide if subsidized services are appropriate. The US government has enough money that running a bunch of pit toilets in the woods shouldn’t be a challenge.