A federal budget shortfall nearly forced the U.S. Forest Service to close public toilets in the San Juan National Forest, but local groups stepped in to keep them open through summer.
In total, lodgers tax funds from the city of Durango and San Juan County, along with donations from the San Juan Mountains Association and Purgatory Resort, raised $54,000 for the Columbine Rangers District.
“Collectively, we realized that we had to do our best to find a solution,” said Stephanie Weber, executive director of the San Juan Mountains Association. “If we weren't able to come up with funding, the vault toilets would have remained closed for the summer season.”
According to a joint news release from Visit Durango and SJMA, the funds will support the operation and maintenance of 20 public toilets at trailheads and free camping areas within the Columbine District, including areas along U.S. Highway 550, La Plata Canyon, and Lemon and Vallecito reservoirs.
The funds will pay for a licensed and bonded contractor to pump waste from the toilet vaults. Columbine Ranger District staff will handle toilet paper restocking and general upkeep.
Weber said delays in upkeep are likely this summer due to staffing cuts in the district.
The Forest Service is facing nationwide budget delays, and although Congress recently passed a continuing resolution, it takes time for agencies to receive their allocations, Weber said.
“It left the Columbine District, in particular, in a state where they just didn't have the funding to do their normal business of taking care of vault toilets,” Weber said.
Compounding the issue, Weber said, was a mass layoff of Forest Service staff by the Department of Government Efficiency, which further strained ranger districts across the country.
Multiple attempts to reach the U.S. Forest Service’s regional spokesperson this week were unsuccessful.
The repercussions, Weber said, could severely harm the environment.
Each year, SJMA’s seasonal staff remove tons of trash and human waste from the forest.
“If people have to go to the bathroom, they're going to go to the bathroom,” Weber said.
Without public toilets, she said the volume of human waste and toilet paper littering the forests would be “off-the-charts,” and “really, really nasty.”
The increase in excrement and trash would not only reduce visitor enjoyment but also threaten ecological health and contaminate water sources, she said.
And Weber noted that while the funds will keep toilets open this summer, they do not offer a long-term solution.
“As we continue to watch decision-makers in Washington, D.C., talk about cutting the budget, the expectation is we will be dealing with management issues and infrastructure issues for a while,” Weber said. “We're talking about solutions, but there's no guarantees.”
jbowman@durangoherald.com
