Crap in the woods

[Jeff]

I knew that would getcha ta look

I have been working on a project that excites me and I think it will make a real difference. I have been building the adopt-a forest website, working closely with program director Ada Takacs of the MI DNR.

As of today you can go to www.cleanforests.org and report trash sites that you find in Michigan forests. The sites are listed in a searchable database. You can search existing trashsites and report status of the site or volunteer to help with their clean up. Our goal is to get the word out to anyone that goes in a Michigan forest that this is available. Adopt-a-Forest will try to publicize the site to all known agencies, groups, and organizations that participate in environmental cleanups.

In the near future the site will be connected to mapping photo that will map the sites down to their legal description. By simply querying a given site it will load the correct map.  For now it only brings up a county map till we get access to the image bank.

If anyone knows of any other site like this in any state please let me know. I think this is the first of its kind and hopefully will be an important tool in Keeping Michigans forests clean.

I am pretty proud of the work we have done on this so far. Please take a look, and let me know if you have any suggestions on improving such a site. The site has not been officially launched, but is very usable right now.

If you need it use it!  Look for the link "Search dumpsite database" to see how it returns sites.  Example counties in Michigan could be clare or midland if you would like to try it out.

www.cleanforests.org

[Tillaway]

Got me there Jeff,

Good idea but I would have one concern regarding Meth Labs.  I like the idea of reporting and having the data base, and one may actually exist in California or Oregon similar to this but it may be administered by the local county sheriffs office or deparment of evironmental quality.  The problem we have out here is that a very high percentage of trash dumps like this are used to dispose of Meth Lab refuse.  Basically it is very hazardous waste.

It is a great idea and I enthusiastically say go ahead on her, but I was wondering how the group will address this.

[Jeff]

Till, This program is not new. It has been in place for several years. AAF has cleaned over 1,000,000 acres of public land in Michigan to date. They have picked up enough discarded tires that if you lined them up they would span the Mackinaw Bridge. The creation of the website just makes all this much simpler to report sites or coordinate clean up.

I don't know if meth labs have presented a problem here or not. I am good friends with the director of the program and she has never mentioned it to me. I know a lot of loggers and foresters and outdoors people in general and it has never come up in my experience.

There is a section on hazardous waste in the AAF guide. Basically, if a site is determined to have hazardous waste, it is left for the professionals.

http://www.cleanforests.org/guide.shtml

How does California handle those sites? Are they just left?

[Tillaway]

Hey Jeff,
One the main sources of income in rural Oregon, Washington, and California is the production of controlled substances.  Currently Meth is king.  I guess my concern is that basically, that buried in one of these trash dumps is an old Meth Lab.

These lab dumps have to be cleaned up by a Haz Mat Team either contrators or government.  Unfortunately most dumps are left because there are more dumps than bucks to clean them.  If you walk along the edge of some roads in certain counties you will find 3 or 4 per mile.

I guess I got kind of concerned because just how many we have here.  A volunteer cleanup effort here on trash dump sites would probably not be wise.  I am glad it is different there.

[Jeff]

I will talk to Ada about this so I can be more informed. Man, that sounds like a mess, but I cant be to fast to say that I am glad it aint like that here, because maybe in parts of Michigan it is.  If someone finds even a syringe in a public place in my part of the state, it makes the local news.

[KiwiCharlie]

G'day Jeff,

Yep, got me too!  I was expecting a bear story.
You really cant have many hours left in a day, with work, and all the web stuff your doing.  I take my hat off to you Jeff.
Cheers
Charlie.

[Ron Wenrich]

Here's the site for Pennsylvania.  http://www.cleanpaforests.org/  There has always been a problem, but the state is only targeting those areas on state forest and park lands.  Dumps on private lands are a totally different issue.

http://www.pacleanways.org/ is another site that concerns cleaning up dump sites.  This is a volunteer organization.  I believe they are involved in the adopt-a-highway organization.  We used to pull guys out of jail to do that.

We also have people who go out and clean up the streams and rivers.  

None of these have an interactive site.  What would be the legal problems if you put down a neighbors property, whether there is a dump or not?   One man's dump is another man's treasure.  I'd be a little careful in this area.

We have one site next to a state park that is loaded with old cars.  It is an eyesore and probably has numerous mosquito nesting sites.  They have tried every trick to get this site cleaned up.  It is grandfathered out, since it wasn't illegal at the time.  Local, county and state cannot get the site cleaned up.

[Jeff]

AAF is only for public lands. Only sites on public lands are added to the database. When you report a site it does not go directly to the database. First it is varified. If it exists, and is on public lands, this includes State and federal, it is added to the database.

[Jeff]

If it included private I am afraid Tammy would rport whats behind my barn.

[Stamp]

Hi guys! Our volunteers have run into meth labs before, but not to the extent Tillaway experiences in his state.  We have also run into unexploded ordinance (near Camp Grayling), loaded rifles and shotguns (probably dumped by poachers), medical waste, and many hazardous wastes in large drums, etc.  These sites are reported to the local authorities (generally the health department or DEQ) and cleaned up using Haz Mat companies.  We constantly mention this stuff in our newsletters and special mailings.

We should have a safety alert area on our website other than what we have in the guide.  I have Meth Lab pamphlets we could get permission to copy along with other materials with special interests (like how to identify medical waste, etc.).

FYI, we are going to be working on a safety video soon.  Perhaps we can include a clip from that on our website.

Ada M. Takacs, Volunteer Coordinator
Michigan Dept of Natural Resources
Forest, Mineral and Fire Mgt Division
8717 North Roscommon Road
Roscommon, Michigan 48653
989.275.5151, Ext 2049 voice
989.275.5167  Fax
takacsa@michigan.gov

[Tom]

Good job, Ada.  I'm proud of you for your efforts.  What y'all are doing is one of those things that is easy to ignore hoping that someone else will do it. Good Show!

[RMay]

Here in Arkansas the A.F.C. have the woodland dumps the A.F.C gets a complaint from the landowners of a dump on their land. The A.F.C. finds a name in it and can find the dumpers it is a $1000 doller fine and clean up. If no name is found a camera is set up to look for a lic. number. The judge will let them work it off at $5.00 an hour on clean up of dumps. It has cut down on the dumps in the state!

[Jeff]

Ada and I have been doing a ton of work to the AAF website.

Tillaway, thanks for opening my eyes to the methlab thing. Of coaurse Ada knew all about it but I had never. We have added pages on identifying a meth lab if you come across one in the woods. You may have guys and didnt even know it.

http://www.cleanforests.org/  look for the link called safezone on the lower right. While yer at it check out our link called Cool trash. Things that were found during clean ups that are sorta special.

Try the match game we developed on the kids page.

Please visit the Adopt-a-Forest website. I am very proud of this one.

[Tillaway]

Good Job!
Great site Jeff, two thumbs up.

[Frank_Pender]

If I come across that sort of "crap" in my woods I have a D5 with a 12' blade the "crap" and grower will all be disposed of in one swath.  I once cought the neighbors kids growing pot in butter containers and storing their "bong" near the sote about twenty years ago.  I truned it over to the boys with the sixsided stars.  At that time I did not have the D5.    Those punks are still giving me the "California hello sign" when they see me.   They really stay clear of me and my F450.