Associated Press - November 10, 2009 11:54 AM ET

BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Workers with the U.S. Forest Service have removed a series of man-made pools that were built illegally along a popular hot spring near Crouch.

The pools, some made with rocks and mortar, were filled with steaming water and have been popular with weekend soakers in recent years.

Boise National Forest officials have said the man who built the pools did so without a permit, breaking federal land-use regulations and dramatically altering the landscape.

Boise National Forest spokesman David Olson says work crews used sledgehammers to remove the pools on Monday, and hauled the debris away from the site.

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