SPEARFISH OFFROADERS CLEAN ILLEGAL DUMP SITE
SPEARFISH, SD: May 6, 2004
Every day somebody dumps something illegally in the Black Hills National Forest.
The problem is growing worse, and Forest officials are looking for
help to clean up dump sites and report offenders.
"Most of our dumping problems occur close to metro areas like
Spearfish or Whitewood and Sturgis," said Forest Service Law
Enforcement Officer Ken Boerman.
The Black Hills Offroaders, a group of off-road vehicle lovers from
Spearfish, recently came to the rescue of one site near Spearfish,
a gravel pit commonly used as a shooting range.
Water
heaters, vehicle frames, engines, and couches are just a few of
the items people leave behind at this site just minutes from town.
"You name it; we have pretty much found it," said Eric
Hunt of Spearfish-based Black Hills Offroaders.
The volunteers came out in force with fellow offroaders and many
family members to help in the cleanup. Several garbage bags were
filled with all types of garbage. "It is a mess. We didn't
know it was going to be this much work. It feels good when you're
all done," Hunt said.
Some volunteers used their off-road vehicles as dumpsters until
they could unload the trash into a Forest Service dump truck. One
of the volunteers even brought his tractor to help out.
The Black Hills Offroaders discovered the site needed cleaning up
after spending time in the Forest with their off-road vehicles. Volunteer
Patrick Hanson of Lead, SD said, "We have been jeeping for a
long time now and we've noticed a lot of places that need to be cleaned
up. Especially the gravel pit here got messy and stuff. There is so
much to clean up in the Black Hills and not a lot of people doing
it."
The Forest Service welcomes volunteer projects and has plenty of
ideas of how volunteers can help. "And I think this is a great
cooperative effort because this is one of our groups that we work
with that likes to come out and recreate in the Forest, and we are
trying to get together instead of against each other, Forest Service
Recreation Specialist Bonnie Jones said.
Meanwhile, the volunteers hope their efforts will not go unnoticed.
"But we hope people will see us cleaning up, and they will
say maybe we shouldn't throw garbage here," Hunt said.
The Forest Service posted a sign at the entrance to the site to
remind people that dumping is not allowed.
For more Forest news, visit the Black Hills National Forest website
at www.fs.fed.us/r2/blackhills.
|