At most facilities operated by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, there are very visible signs stating that "if you carry it in, carry it out." That message pertains to litter and other items brought into an area by hikers, campers, fishermen, etc.

At the DEC campsite entrance at the Ausable Point Campground off Route 9 in Peru, however, either people can't read or they deliberately ignore the edict.

For those who've never visited the campsite, there's fishing area just west of the toll-booth entrance where campers and daytrippers pay for access to camp, picnic and swim. It's where water from the marsh-wildlife area runs under the road to Lake Champlain, a popular fishing spot for as many years as we care to remember.

Frankly, it's a mess. Many of those fishing from the banks of the marsh and lake must think it's not their duty to pick up the stuff they use. On any given day, you can find empty worm containers, coffee cups, cigarette packs, discarded snack bags, beer and soft-drink containers, etc. Short of motor-vehicle tires and used appliances, you can find most anything that has become useless to the visitor.

There are no trash containers at the site because the DEC wants you to clean up your litter and dispose of it at your home. That's a reasonable request, don't you think?

In fact, the litter problem is so bad that some conscientious users have brought their own plastic trash bags and hung them from the signpost where the aforementioned signage is attached for others to use. Since the bags appear and disappear, it's evident someone is doing more than their civic duty by carrying out some else's garbage. We applaud them.

But if the scofflaws followed the rules like the responsible majority at the fishing hole, there would be no problem.

We're inclined to think that even though the folks using the facility enjoy communing with nature by drowning a worm or two on a warm summer's day and are a responsible lot, they're sometimes not willing to clean up after themselves.

We're told this scenario plays out in many public-access venues provided by New York state, even hiking trails in the Adirondacks where it's presumed _ wrongly, we guess _ that the savvy climber knows only too well the does and don'ts of the wilds and the "carry it in, carry it out" rules.

Everyone who uses these natural public venues needs to be responsible for picking up his or her litter. Mom isn't around to go behind you to clean up your mess.