Jul 10, 2009 4:36 pm US/Pacific
Lodi Nature Preserve Falls Victim To The Budget
LODI, Calif. (CBS13) ―
The trails are trashed, there is graffiti and people are stealing plants. Lodi Lake's nature preserve is going through a rough patch. CBS13 asks the question: Why is no one cleaning it up?
"It looks like somebody had lunch, tea, a bucket to catch fish or something," says one Lodi park visitor.
Keeping up with the manmade mess at Lodi Lake Nature area could be a fulltime job. But, the city can't afford that.
Unfortunately, the trash is getting worse.
Kathy Grant is a part-time employee, but was a volunteer before that.
"The man power on the city's side to chase out here and clean up after everybody is not there," explains Kathy.
In the past months Kathy has seen it all; constant graffiti, what appears to be a leaf spray painted blue and a woman stealing plants straight from the soil.
"It was right after the rain, the ground was soft and she had her bag of plants," says Kathy.
The nature area sits along the Mokelumne River and features a 58-acre riparian forest area. Unfortunately, the problems are nothing new, but as the budget cuts deepen the nature area is "on the back burner so to speak," says Kathy.
In past years, officers patrolled the park, but that's simply become a thing of the past.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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