Park officials share photos of upsetting aftermath of college party in national forest: 'We are investigating this event'

Despite explicit requests to keep the area clean — and even free garbage bags handed out to visitors — Memorial Day revelers left California's Shasta Lake completely trashed.

Over the holiday weekend, approximately 3,000 students from northern California and Oregon flocked to the area. Photos taken after their departure show beer cans, cups, food wrappers, and plastic bottles strewn everywhere. There were even discarded inflatable floats tossed on the ground.

The irony of these students' seeking out a beautiful place to relax and then leaving it looking like a garbage heap was not lost on anybody. 

"Upon future visits to national forest system lands, we ask of the students the same we ask of all visitors, to leave the recreational areas in better condition to support the stewardship of the land for future generations," Amelia Fleitz of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest said. Instead, she said, she hoped students could use this as a "learning opportunity" to do better.

Ultimately, a cleanup crew had to spend six hours clearing garbage from the area, but they were unable to gather everything. The forest team reported that they'd be returning later in the summer to clean up the trash that had sunk to the bottom of the lake.

Both the University of Oregon and University of California, Davis issued statements apologizing on behalf of their students' behavior, calling it "disappointing." They added, "We are investigating this event and working with the US Forest Service and our students to remediate the damage and hopefully prevent similar actions in the future."

It's hardly the first time that parks have dealt with unwelcome garbage, which is unsightly and can spoil a relaxing visit and time spent in nature. At one time or another, everybody has been strolling in the woods or a park and come face to face with litter instead. 

"What was left behind in the lake could be damaging to our fish and wildlife, which is a big problem," said Deborah Carlisi, also with the national forest. "If a deer goes down to the water and eats a plastic wrapper, that would make them sick." 

For all these reasons, visitors of all ages should take the extra moment to gather their garbage and take it with them, making sure to Leave No Trace. Better yet? Plan ahead to avoid using any single-use plastics altogether.

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