Here’s the unfortunate truth about shared spaces: they are only as nice as the worst person using them. The lake is open to the public, for now, but if folks keep trashing the beaches, I could see us losing this resource, or being forced to pay higher gate fees to pay for clean up.
Buffalo Springs Lake recently pleaded on their Facebook page for folks to use the golden rule of any natural park space. If you pack it in, pack it out. I’d take this idea one step further and say that you should leave these spaces better than how you found them, if applicable. From the lake:
We, at BSL, try our best to only share the positive happenings at the lake but this needs to be addressed. We take a lot of pride in this lake so the public can come out with their families and enjoy this beautiful oasis but, this is heartbreaking. If you pack it in, pack it out.
Buffalo Springs Lake posted several photos of the trashed spaces from over the weekend, and it’s a mixture of heartbreaking and infuriating. Not only do other people suffer, but wildlife will also pay the price. Fish, turtles and birds are all prone to seeing bright, small plastic bits as food, and can either immediately choke on it or become so backed up with plastic that they die.
These folks came to the lake to enjoy the beauty of nature, but in their lazy, sociopathic way, they attempted to ensure no one else could after them.
We’ve all heard of lake rats, but at least they don’t leave behind a nasty pile of trash for other folks to deal with.
Heartbreaking Pictures of a Trashed Buffalo Springs Lake
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Today these parks are located throughout the country in 25 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The land encompassing them was either purchased or donated, though much of it had been inhabited by native people for thousands of years before the founding of the United States. These areas are protected and revered as educational resources about the natural world, and as spaces for exploration.
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