Police arrested a 65-year-old male had been illegally camping in an Arizona national forest for some years now, following reports that the campsite had accumulated almost 1,000 pounds of garbage.The federal court documents and U.S. Forest Service probable cause statements. The forest rangers found Mark Aaron Gatz in his illegal campsite at Tonto National Forest in Arizona on June 25. It was reported that there was a wood-burning fire burning amid fire restrictions at the campsite.According to Gatz, in his confession during the interrogation, he stayed at the camp for about two years and had resided for a total of eight years in the Payson Pine area of the forest.According to USDA rules, camping on national forests is restricted to 14 days within a span of 30 days. This is done to ensure that natural resources are not harmed while making sure that the forest land remains accessible to the people.It was revealed during the investigation that Gatz had six arrest warrants against him on account of his previous actions. These were for occupation of the national forest lands as residential land, construction of unauthorized structures, starting campfires during fire prohibition period, and maintaining an unsanitary environment.According to the probable cause statement, one of the officers who responded had already informed Gatz that there were no campfires allowed during certain times due to fire restrictions. It is claimed by Gatz that even though he knew about fire restrictions, he still needed to light a fire to make some food.He was charged with the outstanding warrant and taken to the Coconino County Detention Center in Flagstaff.According to court documents, the forest officers came to know about the campsite more than once during the last year. The forest officers came across the campsite following a trail in May 2025, which had heaps of garbage, clothes, kitchen equipment, and other household items. In another check-up on July 4, 2025, the officers reported that there was a lot of garbage in the area that covered one-acre of ground.The former referred to it as “one of the worst residential cases he has ever seen in the whole forest,” whereas the latter stated, “I was amazed by the amount of trash found in the area.”During the return visit to the site on May 7, 2026, it is claimed that the officials noted approximately one thousand pounds of trash. The items listed in the litter were old tires, plastic bags, aluminum cans, among others. They also discovered the existence of an illegal stone cooking pit as well as a canopy erected over Gatz’s SUV. Further charges were filed against him.
