Black Hills National Forest

US Forest Service
Black Hills National Forest
1019 N. 5th Street
Custer, SD 57730
605-673-9200

Telephone for the
Hearing Impaired
605-673-9227

News Release

USDA Forest Service

Black Hills National Forest

Contact: Frank Carroll (605) 673-9200, or email us at r2 blackhills webinfo@fs.fed.us

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.