A dirty dilemma at Lake Roosevelt camp sites

FORT SPOKANE, Wash. — Campers' toilet habits at Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area have prompted some National Park Service officials to consider requiring permits or registrations to help control the smelly and unsanitary problem.

No decisions have been made, but Superintendent Debbie Bird, on a recent boat tour of the reservoir with local political leaders, said the Park Service is struggling to keep up with the mess left by the growing crowds.

Last year, about 1.5 million people visited the recreation area behind Grand Coulee Dam, about 50 miles northwest of Spokane. Within a decade, the number is expected to jump to 2 million.

"Be careful, you guys," Bird said as she led the group of county commissioners and political aides over a sandy beach flecked with piles of dog excrement. Tents were clustered at the back of the beach, and behind them a narrow, brushy valley had been used by campers for a toilet.

The tour participants walked cautiously, choosing each step. A camp chair with a round hole cut into its seat was parked in a clump of sagebrush. Less than 20 feet away sat a bucket covered by a toilet seat.

"It's disgusting," Bird said. "That's the only way to describe it."

The base of nearly every bush was marked by a pile of human waste. Strips of dirty toilet paper fluttered from low branches.

"Its like a barnyard," said Merrill Ott, a rancher and commissioner from Stevens County.

As the reservoir becomes more popular with boaters and campers, the waste only gets deeper, the commissioners said.

The scene is similar at makeshift campsites scattered along the shoreline of Lake Roosevelt, which stretches 129 miles through Eastern Washington.

Shoreline campers are required to carry a portable toilet, but many opt instead to use the sand for their bathroom, Bird said. This saves them the trouble of cleaning their toilet, but leaves behind a stinking mess for the next camper, not to mention a public health threat.

"It's hard for me to get into the mentality of people who bring their families out and don't think about what they're leaving behind for the next family," Bird said.

Meanwhile, the recreation area has lost staff because of tight budgets. Eight full-time rangers patrol the recreation area, down from 20 a decade ago.

Bird said the tour was scheduled to help local officials understand the problems facing Lake Roosevelt, including an infestation of Eurasian water milfoil, a plant that grows quickly and can form thick mats that clog swimming areas.

The Park Service recently installed black-mesh light barriers underwater at several popular swimming areas. The mats seem to be keeping weeds from growing, said Ray Dashiell, chief of park maintenance. The agency also is considering using herbicides in certain areas.

But Todd Neel, a Park Service weed expert, said most of Lake Roosevelt's plants appear to be native species, not milfoil. "We need to weigh carefully where we remove aquatic plants," Neel said.

Whether it's human waste or invasive weeds, the answer is clear, Bird said.

"Its all going to take money," Bird said. "Right now were stretched to the max."