A man in Arizona pleaded guilty to violating federal fire restrictions and unlawfully living in a national forest, after officials said he spent years at a makeshift campsite cluttered with what they described as “approximately 1,000 pounds of trash.”

Authorities arrested Mark Aaron Gatz on June 25 at an illegal campsite in the Tonto National Forest. Court records and filings by U.S. Forest Service officers said the site included a wood-burning campfire despite fire restrictions, and that Gatz told investigators he had been living in the forest for about eight years.

The records say officers had multiple prior interactions with Gatz over the past year, including warnings and citations. Officials also stated that he had been issued earlier citations for matters including building fires during fire restrictions, constructing on national forest service lands, occupying the national forest as a residence, and unsanitary conditions.

In one earlier encounter, an officer wrote they were “flabbergasted” by the amount of debris at the site. Other reports described trash and debris—such as tires, plastic bags, aluminum cans, and other items—across a stretch of forest land, along with structures and unsanitary conditions that raised public safety concerns.

After pleading guilty, Gatz was sentenced to time served and three years of probation, according to court records.