Concerned individuals have taken to Facebook recently to voice their displeasure with the amount of trash in and around the vicinity of Beltzville State Park.

Many have posted photos that depict items strewn at various locations throughout the hot spot destination along Pohopoco Drive that has been flooded with visitors the past two weekends.

While Franklin Township police Chief Jason Doll noted the park was once again inundated with visitors last weekend, he said police didn’t run into any serious problems because of it.

“Most of any of the calls that we had in regards to the influx of people at Beltzville were all minor in nature,” Doll said. “In all reality, it went smoothly, no major incidents.”

Turns out the situation isn’t really all that uncommon for state parks throughout the state, according to Marci Mowery, president of the Pennsylvania Parks and Forest Foundation.

“Heavy use is not unique, litter is not unique,” Mowery said. “One of the issues that we’ve had since the COVID is dumping, graffiti has happened; it’s always a challenge when you’re bringing large groups together.”

Mowery said the more people there are, the more likely the chance such a situation can unfold.

“I think that whenever you bring large volumes of people together, that litter can be an issue,” she said. “I know that the park has been working on additional trash receptacles, giving out additional trash bags.”

Mowery said state parks were heavily used over the Fourth of July weekend.

“Our parks are seeing an unprecedented number of visitors, that puts increased pressure on our parks,” she said. “People are looking for healthy outdoor recreation and looking to reconnect with family and friends, and the outdoors is where a lot of that reconnection is happening.”

However, Mowery said that it’s up to everyone to do their part to ensure our state parks continue to endure.

“All users of our parks and forests can pitch in to help steward our public lands,” she said. “We all have a role to be stewards of these places.”

Mowery said visitors should all be of the “pack it in, pack it out” mindset.

“We all have a role in educating people about being good stewards,” she said. “It’s about taking responsibility for our own (actions), and carrying things with us to pick up things that may be left behind.”

In the meantime, Beltzville State Park manager Alma Holmes said the park plans to stay one step ahead.

“We’re going to keep ahead of the game on everything,” Holmes said. “The trash, crowds.”