Once the snow started to melt in March, reports showed more than 1,000 known illegal dumpsites on public land, both state and federal.
The Adopt-a-Forest program is looking for individuals or groups to take a leadership role and commit to cleaning up sites in their area. Limited funding is available on a pre-approved basis to cover disposal costs.
Working statewide since 1991 through the Adopt-a-Forest program, volunteers have reported removing trash from nearly 1.6 million acres of public land. There is still plenty to do.
“Citizens are not seeing the giant piles of debris in the woods like they used to in the 80s and 90s,” said Cara Boucher assistant chief of the DNR Forest Management Division. “Volunteers have made a huge difference cleaning up our forests. The increasing price for metals has helped keep large items out of the woods, but even one discarded tire seems to encourage others to dump on top of it.”
Adopt-a-Forest is supported in large part by private and corporate donations, as well as the labor of volunteers and community service crews. The program also coordinates with every level of law enforcement to make arrests when possible and with local communities to set up legal disposal methods such as recycling stations. Education is also an important component of the program, which teaches youth about the perils of dumping on public land.
“This cooperative effort between Law Enforcement, Forest Management Division and volunteers, has made a visible difference on public land,” said Assistant Chief Dean Molnar of DNR’s Law Enforcement Division. Getting these eyesores removed will assist us with taking enforcement action on any future dumping that might occur.”
An automated mapping system using GPS technology allows conservation officers to report illegal dumpsites found during regular patrols on public land. These maps eventually make their way to volunteer groups who remove the trash; everything from dirty diapers to busted-up trailers and boats.
Volunteers are needed to go into the areas before the cleanup day to confirm that the trash is still there, and there are no special concerns like hazardous waste.
To make a tax-deductible donation and/or volunteer, please contact Ada Takacs at 989-275-5151 x 2049 or takacsa@michigan.gov. You can also visit www.cleanforests.org to find out more about the program.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state’s natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. For more information, go to www.michigan.gov/dnr.
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