Call for help issued for Ocala National Forest cleanup
BY FRED HIERS
STAR-BANNER
OCALA - Every few days, the Ocala National Forest is marred. Piles of trash, abandoned boats and cars, leaking batteries and worn out tires are illegally dumped, scarring the landscape like cancerous tumors.
Tons of debris are left by people unwilling to drive the few extra miles, sometimes yards, to nearby recycling centers or landfills. Instead, they have turned the forest, which has an amazing variety of wildlife, into their personal trash can.
U.S. Forestry officials and more than 200 volunteers plan to take out the trash June 9 and 10 as part of the largest cleanup in the 384,000-acre forest.
"It actually sickens me to see it. It's heartbreaking," said Mike Bowen, a U.S. Forest Service volunteer who is helping organize the cleanup.
"I've never been able to make sense of it," Bowen said.
He is asking for volunteers to help collect the trash, which will then be trucked to recycling centers and the county landfill.
Bowen said the Forest Service has cataloged 320 major trash piles, 19 abandoned and gutted boats, 63 automobiles and an estimated 2,000 tires.
"Anything people would have to pay for to take to the landfill, you'll find there," he said.
The list also includes 19 car batteries leaking poisonous chemicals into a nearby pond that feeds the area aquifer.
"It's a lack of education," Bowen said.
And although 200 volunteers are already signed up to help, Bowen said he needs all the help he can get.
Cleaning up trash is not the only remedy, said Eve Shackleton, the Forest Service's volunteer coordinator.
The agency has increased potential fines for violators, up to $500, and courts could dole out sentences of up to six months in jail, she said.
In addition, the agency doubled enforcement officers on its staff and now has four people patrolling the forest along with volunteers who report violators.
Shackleton said she has found piles of trash and debris about 100 yards from recycling stations.
"They've created dumps behind the dump. Every day you can go out there and find a new dump," she said.
"Fines usually start at $325," Shackleton said, "but if we catch them, we'll write them up for anything else we can write them up for."
And when violators are confronted, Shackleton said they usually respond by saying, "But this is where we've always done it."
"I don't know where their minds are sometimes," she said.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
The Ocala National Forest cleanup is from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., June 9, and from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., June 10. Volunteers should meet at the Lake George Ranger District Office on State Road 40, a half mile east of County Road 314A.
Those wanting to help can contact Mike Bowen at (352) 288-3228.
The Forest Service will provide trash bags, gloves, drinks and food, and will transport people to trash sites. Bowen recommends volunteers bring sunscreen and bug repellent.
Link
http://www.ocala.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070530/NEWS/205300316/1025/NEWS
