Vandal At Popular Recreation Spot Wanted
By Jeff Todd
LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4)- The Larimer County Department of Natural Resources is asking for the public's help identifying a suspect who allegedly vandalized parts of Horsetooth Reservoir.
The department posted four pictures to its Facebook page which show a man in a green jacket and his hair in a bun as he enters a bathroom. Two more pictures show the vandalism.
The department says this isn't the first time.
"For several years, someone has been spraying graffiti on restrooms, dumpsters and signs at Horsetooth Reservoir. Your dollars are going to cleaning up every time he strikes, so please help us identify him," read the Facebook post.
"It's really sad to think someone thought that was a great idea to go out and damage some of our natural wonders," said Kimberly Pope with the Sierra Club in Denver.
The Horsetooth case is the third high profile defacing of public land around Colorado just this week.
Monday, Douglas County asked for help as a park near Highlands Ranch had racial symbols spray painted on rocks.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Forest Service threatened to close the popular Hanging Lake trail because of trash and more graffiti.
"It's something that's definitely a concern," Pope said. "They're not going to be the way they were for future generations. It's a problem it's going to affect everybody's enjoyments of the land and also affect their ecosystems in the long run."
Pope said budget cuts are taking away from enforcement arms on public lands across the state and country. Another concern is implementing technology into the wilderness in order to try and catch the vandals.
"There might be just one ranger responsible for covering thousands of acres of land and they just don't have the ability to catch these people or clean it up," Pope said. "It does take all of us to protect our lands, they're public for a reason."
Jeff Todd joined the CBS4 team in 2011 covering the Western Slope in the Mountain Newsroom. Since 2015 he's been working across the Front Range in the Denver Headquarters. Follow him on Twitter @CBS4Jeff.