Snapshot of a Typical Week at Fossil Creek

Recent Accomplishments at Fossil Creek Installed 10 portable restrooms throughout the area Re-designed kiosk layouts, adding new rules/regulations signs in both English and Spanish. Removed a heavy duty rope swing suspended 75 feet above the waterfall by a steel cable. Painted over the majority of graffiti throughout the area Increased Forest Service presence in the area by patrolling nearly every day.

Re-designed kiosks with new regulatory signs

Painting over the graffiti under the bridge.

Removing the rope swing suspended high above the waterfall by a steel cable.

These newly introduced portable toilets are heavily used by the public. District has increased pumping to twice per week.

Most Pressing Issues Employees Dealing With at Fossil Creek 1)Parking along the roads to the point of nearly blocking them. 2)Weekend recreational use exceeding resource capacity. 3)Extreme tree damage near camp sites. 4)Large amounts of litter left at camp sites. 5)Fire restrictions constantly ignored.

The parking situation, especially near the waterfall access point, makes passage by larger vehicles very difficult. Parking can quickly become out of control along Forest Road 708, especially near the waterfall “trailhead” created by the public.

This can present a serious public safety hazard. Today, the ambulance was able to squeeze by.

A Snapshot of Weekend Use Weekend recreational use at Fossil Creek is exceeding the resource’s capacity. These values represent only what one employee counted while on patrol. True values are likely twice these.

The bridge swimming hole has become one of the most highly used areas of the creek. Up to nearly 100 people have been counted here on a Saturday.

Tree Damage Almost every tree in Fossil Creek located near a campsite is being destroyed.

The following images were collected along a 1 mile stretch of Forest Road 708. In one hour of searching for damaged trees, one employee accumulated over 120 images. The following is only a small selection.

Someone apparently decided that their camp site wasn't big enough and proceeded to cut down a juniper and four mesquite trees. Worst of the Weekend…

Trashed camp sites are a common occurrence.

Someone using a pool toy. Unsafe Behavior by the Public is Commonplace

We will continue to provide periodic updates on our progress, as well as on the problems we encounter. - Aaron Rotert, USFS Student Intern and Patrol Ranger