I stopped by Pillsbury Crossing near Manhattan on a frosty morning last week to see how the freeze affected the waterfalls. And it wasn’t disappointing. Moving water flowed over the rock bed as always, but where secondary rivulets dripped and froze, icicles bejeweled the scenic wonder. It was a magic place in the cold morning air.
And then I saw the spoiler. Someone had callously chosen this unique place for target practice. With orange clay rocks and shotguns, the clear shallow water and natural theatre was used as a gun range.
Broken clay rocks littered the area, and even the 12-guage empty shells were left where they settled. It wasn’t enough to desecrate the area above the falls. More of the same was found downstream.
This was more than idiocy. It was a statement against man and nature. True, some future flood will wash it all downstream, cleaning it up. But it’s sad to think that someone took pleasure in temporarily trashing one of the area’s most beautiful places.
As a hunter and a sport shooter, I’m ashamed of this visual association with what I and many responsible gunners enjoy. Trust me, the offenders don't belong with us.
Real sportsmen & women leave a place better than they found it. Slobs do not. They do not belong in the hunting/shooting fraternity.
ReplyDeleteDid you do anything about it (like stop and pick things up)?
ReplyDeleteI know your feeling. My wife and I are constantly amazed by how people can be so ignorant and lazy. They have the strength to carry trash with them to a place but not the strength to take it with them when they leave. I am thinking now of some of my most favorite fishing areas littered with cups and bait containers, soiled dipers etc. I liken it to someone who never grew out of wetting their bed or soiling the pants. Sad but we have taken to carrying 44 gallon trash bags with us so that we can enjoy they area the way it was meant to be enjoyed and we always leave and area much better than we found it.
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