APACHE JUNCTION, AZ — There are lingering concerns after a public land closure near Apache Junction forced illegal campers out of their grounds and elsewhere into the community.
Apache Junction resident Nadine Johnson has been collecting shell casings that are scattered about a mile into nearby Tonto National Forest.
"Lots of gunfire, especially in the middle of the night, lots of trash that's just abandoned at these trailer sites,” said Johnson.
At the Bulldog Canyon entrance near Apache Junction, the gate’s lock had been cut in half again. Residents tell ABC15 it is a popular route for many who illegally camp, sometimes for months, and leave trash all around.
"Otherwise, it's a perfect, untouched landscape, and then all of a sudden, you get patches of what looks like it's a garbage dump,” said Ben Daniels, who was bicycling in Tonto on Friday.
An ABC15 crew went less than a mile into Tonto where they found an encampment with what looks like a surveillance camera and jugs of water stored away nearby.
This comes weeks after the Bureau of Land Management closed more than 1,000 acres of public land nearby to build a new recreation area.
Neighbors are concerned those illegally camping on that land in the past are now moving into Tonto. They also feel jurisdictional issues have led to inaction.
"We would just like to see the different entities, government agencies work collectively. It feels like they work in silos and they're not working together," said Colleen Campos, another Apache Junction resident.
ABC15 reached out to forestry offices and the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office for comment but did not hear back.
For the people who truly need shelter, residents hope more options are made available to them. There is not a single long-term homeless shelter anywhere in Pinal County.
For now, it is an issue residents have to tackle alone.
"It's a housing issue, it's mental health resources and all of that stuff that really truly is the true problem that has created a lot of this," said Johnson.
