A man was fined $900 after pleading guilty to keeping an untidy campsite in Jasper Provincial Court, July 13.
According to Ian Ross, the federal Crown prosecutor, on May 25 a park warden received a public complaint that several items had been left behind at Whirlpool Campground.
Upon arrival the warden found a bike, an inflatable mattress and a broken picnic chair.
According to the public complaint and calls to other campers in the area, the warden was able to confirm that three men were staying at the campsite.
After checking the campers list, a call was made to Matthew Cary, who confirmed the items were his.
The warden subsequently asked him to go back to the campsite to pick up the items, but Cary said he would be unable to because of work in Calgary.
As a result the warden hiked 6.5 kilometres into the campground and cleaned up the site himself.
The Crown prosecutor asked the judge to consider a $900 fine because of aggravating circumstances, including the fact that the campsite is located in the backcountry.
According to Cary, he left a day early because he had to return to Calgary for work and couldn’t return to Jasper pick up his stuff.
“I didn’t intend to leave it there. My buddies were going to go get it, they were going to take my campground for the second night I rented it for, but they didn’t end up going, so it’s my responsibility, that’s why I’m here today,” said Cary.
Prior to sentencing, Judge D.C Norheim asked why he didn’t pack it out with him when he left.
“I don’t always agree with the Parks submission for what the penalty should be, but this is the kind of thing that really degrades from anybody’s experience,” said Norheim.
As a result Cary was fined $900 and given until Nov. 9 to pay.
Paul Clarke
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