Even after the recent snowstorms, the trail that runs behind Mountain View Middle School and by Bonney Lake High School was well worn.

In places, the dirt peeked through the ice and footsteps not only littered the main trail, but showed the way to holes cut in the fences around the schools.

The trail provides a convenient way to school for students living in the neighborhoods just to South of Mountain View and the high school, but a recent Youth Forum at the middle school revealed that many students – and some of their parents – don’t necessarily feel safe walking through the woods.

“The trail has been an area of concern,” said Bonney Lake School Resource Officer Daron Wolschleger.

According to Wolschleger, there has been an escalation in complaints and some minor crimes reported from the trail area during the past two or three years, though he said even he was surprised to hear it come out as such a concern among students at the youth forum.

“It really, really brought it to light,” he said, calling it an “overwhelming response” from the kids.

“I didn’t realize it was that much of a forefront (issue),” said Mayor Neil Johnson, who also attended the youth forum. “I was taken aback by it.

“When you have parents that are scared to walk it, that concerns me,” Johnson said.

According to Wolschleger, the problems are caused primarily by other kids, as opposed to adults threatening students, but police have seen troubles of every kind, from tobacco to marijuana and other drugs to fights. Bonney Lake police are also investigating a pair of potential sexual assaults that occurred this year along the trail, again involving students and not adults.

However, the department has also received calls from adults on the trail who are walking with their kids or pets and have ben harassed by teens in the woods or having seen kids up to no good.

“We’ve had everything: weapons, drugs, sex issues, what have you,” Wolschleger said.

To help make the trails safer, Wolschleger said he and a fellow officer have stepped up their patrols of the area, trying to make appearances on the trail to establish more of a police presence.

“We’ve really tried to increase our presence before and after school,” he said, adding that during winter especially, the sun goes down early and the trail can be “dark and scary” by as early as 4:30 p.m.

Following the forum, Wolschleger met with Johnson and representatives of the school district, including Superintendent Gil Mendoza, who were also in attendance and were affected hearing students who didn’t feel safe. The group did a walk-through of the trail to discuss options.

However, the land on which the trail sits is a greenbelt owned by the school district and Pierce County, not the city, which means there is little Bonney Lake can do to help.

“If this was city property, we’d clean it out in a heartbeat,” Johnson said. “Unfortunately, the city is not able to do any work on the county property.”

Johnson said though the county is unlikely to do anything with its portion of the land, the school district has agreed to help clear some brush and trees from its land in hopes of shedding a little light on the trail.

Wolschleger said the hope is that as more of the trail can be seen from the schools and neighborhoods, the less likely kids will be to hang out back there.

“By taking out a lot of these trees, the trail will be more visible,” Wolschleger said.

Wolschleger said the police department, the school district and the city are all working together and are focused on the safety of that area.

“To do it right it’s going to be a big job,” he said.

Johnson said he was glad the issue came up at the Youth Forum and it is good for the kids to see that their concerns are being addressed.

“I think it shows the district and the city do care about what the kids are saying,” Johnson said.

In the meantime, Wolschleger encouraged parents to walk the trail with their kids and said he hopes more adults will take a role in making sure things stay safe.

“We’d love to have parents walking to and from school,” he said.

Wolschleger said kids are also encouraged to immediately report any suspicious activity they see in the woods and to consider cutting through the field behind Mountain View instead of walking the trail, especially in the dark.