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Climate and Environment

Dear Hikers: Do Not Bring Your Couch And Leave It Behind. Seriously

A large light brown sectional, in two parks, has it's seats pointed toward a panoramic view of the ocean and mountains.
Park Rangers don't know how this couch got there but they do know it took them two days to haul it back out.
(
Courtesy Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
)

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It's a nice weekend for a hike. But if you go, don't leave a couch there.

Rangers in the mountains just got rid of one this week.

It took five Park Service workers two days to haul the light brown five-piece sectional — with an excellent view of the Pacific Ocean — out of Deer Creek.

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"It took us away from everything," said Mike Alongi, Chief Ranger for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

Alongi said he has no idea how this particular seating area got there, but he finds plenty of thrown-out furniture. The issue, he said, is not just that it mars the beauty of the trails, it's also bad for the environment.

"You know it's no secret that there's synthetic fibers in waterways." he said.

So dumping furniture and other items in nature just adds more flammable material to our ecosystem. And keep this in mind: Dumping is a misdemeanor.

You also have to wonder about the wasted effort to lug a massive piece of furniture somewhere it will just be removed,

Alongi's advice? "You can go buy a beach chair. It's easy to hike in, easy to hike out. You can set it up, enjoy the great view."

Our advice? Just the leave the couch at home.

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