A beautiful part of the Pacific Northwest is being trashed by vandals and people illegally shooting on forest land. It's posing a hazard to the environment and a danger to the public.
"I feel rage when I see this," hiker Peter Ide said.
Ide has spent much of his life in the woods of the Cascades, but he has never experienced anything like this.
"They've left their shotgun shells all over," he said, kicking over a bullet-riddled CD player. "Trash is in the river. It's really a shame."
Forest Service Road 41 off Mountain Loop Highway near Granite Falls has become a shooting gallery.
Several sites along the road are overrun with garbage, spent shotgun shells and rifle casings. The waste bleeds into picturesque streams and waterfalls.
"We have the beauty of the Northwest and all we love about it right next to a bunch of selfish and irresponsible people using it to dump their trash," Ide said.
While shooting is allowed on some Forest Service land, strict rules about clean-up are supposed to be adhered to. They often aren't.
As if the trash wasn't bad enough, Ide points out the shooters are also endangering lives. He points to a target nailed to a tree about 60 yards across a river that backs up to a trail system.
"They're obviously shooting into the woods," Ide said. "If somebody is coming down the trail and the people firing don't know it, you could end up with a hiker or a biker getting shot and killed."
A forest service spokeswoman told KING 5 they have funding for just one law enforcement officer to cover the entire Darrington Ranger District.
Tracy O'Toole says the area is a known problem to the Forest Service and patrols along FS-41 will be increased. Plans are also in the works to involve gun groups to better educate shooters in the woods.
For now, though, the problem persists. Without a crackdown, Peter Ide worries public access might one day be cut off entirely.
"This is our land. This belongs to all of us," he said. "Our freedom and our public lands are the most precious things we have as Americans. We can't let it go."
