Masks, other trash piling up at one of Utah’s most popular national parks, park says
Single-use face masks and other trash items are piling up in one of Utah’s most popular national parks, officials said.
As more people head outdoors during the coronavirus pandemic, they’re leaving their trash behind — including masks. At Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah, officials said Friday on Facebook that trash is littering the park.
“Single-use masks, Steller’s jays, cigarette butts, short-horned lizards, plastic water bottles, ponderosa pines, orange peels, prairie dogs, and always one sock or shoe (never two),” Bryce Canyon National Park officials said in a Friday Facebook post. “Among the park’s lovely flora and fauna, some things just don’t belong, and trash is definitely one of them.”
More than 2 million people visit Bryce Canyon National Park each year, according to data from the National Park Service. It’s one of Utah’s most popular national parks, but it’s not the only park that has seen an increase in litter during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources said in July that people are “trashing your public lands thoroughly this year,” McClatchy News reported. Photos show mounds of trash invading Utah’s public lands. In some photos, trash is piled up next to a trail. In others, the trash covers the ground.
The trash dumped on Utah’s public lands is an example of a bigger trend across the country. National parks across the U.S. have documented more graffiti and litter.
In Yellowstone National Park, masks are flying off people’s faces and landing in geysers, McClatchy News reported.
“On a single visit last week we came across 8 masks, 5 hats, 3 water bottles, and a pair of sunglasses,” the park said on a post on Facebook.
Because it’s often windy in the area, there’s long been a problem with hats and trash blowing around, park officials said, but the face masks are new — courtesy of COVID-19 precautions.
Camp Rock at City of Rocks National Reserve in Idaho also saw “the worst case of vandalism in the park’s history,” according to the Idaho Statesman. Other parks have seen excessive traffic and crowds, as well as litter, scattered throughout the parks.