Jefferson County Ranger Sounds Off On Dog Poop

JEFFERSON COUNTY, CO — A Jefferson County Ranger named Jason recently revealed on Twitter just how often he and his ranger colleagues find bags of dog poop left on local trails. Unbagged dog excrement also is an issue.

In a Jan. 30 tweet, Jason said he had picked up 11 bags of dog poop on his foot patrol just that day.

"Did you know??? Our Ranger Team collected 2,220 bags of pet waste that were left behind by visitors last year!" Jason wrote.

Somebody noted that the real problem might be horse waste left on the trails. But Jason said dog droppings, even unbagged, are more of an issue.

"Look a little closer… the unbagged (waste) is right on the trail. We see way more dogs than horses on #jeffcotrails. (Waste) = High-density nutrients, bacteria, viruses and other pathogens that can affect water quality & surrounding plant life," Jason wrote.

The problems are hardly new, as Jason indicated by posting several of his old tweets on the subject:

"We've made bags/cans available, constant education and outreach. Still found 40+ piles near trailhead!" Jason tweeted in 2016.

"Our streams have 20x over acceptable level of EColi bac! You'd think w/ public meetings #DogPark etiquette/issues that this would change," Jason wrote in 2017.

"#Minefield of dog poo, 5 piles, all within 2 feet of the kiosk/bags/can! #PickUpPoop please #$50.00 fine," Jason wrote in 2014.

In addition to the $50 fines, there are other consequences to leaving bags of poop around, as Jason noted in his recent tweet.

"Despite the warnings, this type of behavior got the old #ElkMeadow #DogPark permanently closed," Jason wrote.

In a recent article, Townsquarenoco.com said the issues exists throughout Colorado, and that there is an easy solution.

"Most of the trailheads and access points in Jefferson County, and at other parks and outdoor spaces in Colorado for that matter, have dog poo bag dispensers conveniently located somewhere on the property," the publication wrote. "The dispensers are usually accompanied by trash cans and signage that reminds visitors to clean up after their pet — which means not only picking up their waste but depositing somewhere properly afterward too."