Bill Hamre: Bones, bottle caps, broken toys turn Woodward into a mess after big events

I was taught from family and scouting to always leave a campsite clean. As a group, before leaving a site, we would sweep the area to make sure it was clean for the next guys. On July 5th, my wife and I went over to Woodward to enjoy the lake. Never in over 50 years of California recreation have we seen such a mess left behind.

Garbage everywhere. Sites littered with rib and chicken bones, bottles, plates, beer caps, kids toys, damaged camp gear, etc. We asked guys driving a county truck what’s up. “It’s like this every year,” he said. “We have crews to clean it up.”

July 12th, we returned to use the lake again. We picked up three bags full of trash before using a different site. Again, bones everywhere. They are a problem when you have a dog.

I have been told by county officials Woodward is its No.1 revenue generator. Let’s use some of that money to hire more rangers to enforce litter laws. Take names and license numbers for every campsite.

This story was originally published July 14, 2017 at 2:42 PM with the headline "Bill Hamre: Bones, bottle caps, broken toys turn Woodward into a mess after big events."