Dear Action Line: Since it’s springtime, thought I would send this question (and photo) along: We are all aware of the scofflaws who fail to pick up after their dogs on popular area trails. Even more irksome are those who seem to think there is a Poop Fairy who collects the filled bags left on the trail. But could you please find a psychologist, human behaviorist or psychic to explain the curious phenomenon of getting that little poop bag all the way back TO the trailhead trash can, but not IN it? – Poo-Plexed
Dogs and poop are on a lot of minds (and undersides of boots) this time of year. Here’s another question that we’ll shove into the same green answer bag:
Dear Action Line: Now that hiking season has begun could you kindly ask the rec captains at the city of Durango, the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service to publish their schedules that precisely explain when they pick up the little doggie bags that so many thoughtful people leave alongside our favorite hiking trails? – Pooped
Dear Poo-Plexed and Pooped: Are you two related?
Fortunately, like CNN or PBS or Fox News or (pick your fave), Action Line has experts on standby to cover these types of questions.
“As Action Line’s proud chief psychologist,” said Brian Burke, professor of psychological science at Fort Lewis College, “I view the poop bag debacle as a ubiquitous example of a concept termed ‘diffusion of responsibility.’
“We humans have a great deal on our minds and we are easily overwhelmed with the state of the world, so we tend to withdraw from actions when we assume that other members of the group can do them instead of us. For instance, many of us are sitting around and waiting for others to act passionately to reduce the impacts of climate change or to end the war in Ukraine.”
Action Line, incidentally, has spotted Burke on local trails, and knows he carries not just psychological but real-world poop bag knowledge.
“Those unsightly green monsters – poop bags – are yet another manifestation of this basic phenomenon but with a twist: a partial diffusion of responsibility,” he said. “So we take some minimal action (picking up our furry companion’s excrement), and then maybe some more (carrying the bag to the bin), but we leave that last bit (actually opening the oft-smelly receptacle) for someone else to do. So we end up smelling like roses rather than ‘pooping’ ourselves out with too many mundane tasks.”
Did you see how Action Line withdrew from action and allowed another member of the group to do the heavy lifting in answering the question? That’s either poignantly brilliant or terribly slothful – you decide.
Action Line has been in the situation of badly wanting to open the trailhead trash container, yet being denied by a seemingly complicated hidden-lever-sliding opening system. Operator error, or container malfunction? Let’s have Joey Medina, Durango Public Works’ solid waste manager, address this issue.
“On the front of the can, there is a sticker that explains how the lever mechanism works on the can to unlock it,” he said. “If you move the lever underneath the front area (where the arrows point) from left to right, the can will unlock so the lid can be opened.”
Medina concurred with Poo-Plexed that citizens sometimes just don’t want to spend the time to unlock the can, and just toss it on top or next to it. When a can isn’t operating properly, the parks department notifies public works that it needs fixing.
Sorry, Poo-Plexed, Action Line does not have a psychic on standby. Yet. But as far as picking up poop bags, Action Line can read the city’s and BLM’s and USFS’s minds on this one. There is no dedicated worker around to do this. Times are lean, employees are hard to find, and they have lots to do. At the risk of sounding like a tired city employee, here’s the standard answer. You can volunteer to do this job!
Check out the city website for information about a volunteer program, Friends of Parks and Recreation, at www.durangogov.org/493/Volunteer-Opportunities, or call the administrative office at 375-7321.
Or just sit back and watch the poop bags pile up, and the bombs drop endlessly on Ukraine as the planet warms and rivers run dry – you decide.
Email questions and suggestions to actionline@durangoherald.com or mail them to Action Line, The Durango Herald, 1275 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301. Hey, if you want to self-immolate to highlight the climate change issue, that’s your business. Action Line strongly cautions against this and advises using other means. Streaking used to work pretty well, for instance, and it was a lot of fun with the right folks.
