COSTILLA COUNTY — Illegal dumps continue to appear in rural Costilla County and some residents want them cleaned up.
Debbie and Gary Pettigrew last week stumbled upon several spots where people haave been dumping trash, especially construction and household debris.
They are asking the Costilla Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) to close a road accessing that area in order to dissuade people dumping trash and debris in the area.
Debbie says, "We are blessed as San Luis Valley residents to wake up every day, look out the window and see God's country. As children we were taught to respect the Earth, to give back to it.'
"We visited 'Blueberry Hill” also known as Hoffman Canyon, and what we saw hurt our hearts. Just to save a few dollars, people are happy to destroy the beauty, the habitat that we have enjoyed for many generations."
"How do you reverse this path of degradation that is so rampant everywhere we look in Costilla County and so many other San Luis Valley locations?
"I urge our commissioners to allow that road to be closed."
In addition to dumping, landslides are also a problem in the area.
Pettigrew spoke to the persons doing the dumping. "Please know what you do to the Earth will one day be inherited by your grandchildren. "