ASPEN, Colo. -- Number two is getting number one priority by the U.S. Forest Service at a popular backcountry campground above Aspen.

 

The Forest Service plans to get backpackers to pack their waste out from campsites near the Conundrum Hot Springs, the most heavily visited overnight wilderness destination in the Aspen area.

 

According to the Aspen Times, the Forest Service received a $2,950 grant from the Aspen Skiing Co. employees' Environment Foundation to purchase poop bags for backpackers using the area. Restop -- the manufacturer of human waste bags -- also donated. That means the Forest Service has 2,000 of the special human poop bags for use this year.

 

"Two thousand people, two thousand poops -- they start thinking, 'Definitely something should be done up here,'" said Kevin Warner, wilderness crew supervisor for the Aspen-Sopris Ranger District.

 

He said a 2006 study found that 71 percent of campsites had partially unburied solid waste" within a short distance of the core camping area. In addition, the water at the springs has tested positive in the past for fecal coliform, he said.

 

Warner said there are worries bacteria from human waste may be affecting the water supply in the upper Conundrum Valley. The springs feed Conundrum Creek, which empties into Castle Creek, a stream that feeds into the Roaring Fork River.

 

Rocky Mountain, Zion and Canyonlands national parks also require climbers or hikers to use human poop bags in certain areas.

 

Read more about the story at AspenTimes.com.