Since July 2020 Okanagan Forest Task Force has assisted in the ticketing of upwards of 60 individuals for illegally dumping garbage in the backcountry. With the help of Big White and their generous donation to purchase trail cameras, OFTF has been busy. Cameras have been placed on many forest service roads in what are known to be illegal dumping "hot spots".
Founder of the group, Kane Blake says "Cameras typically get checked once a week, and that’s when investigations are triggered. In a single week, some cameras capture upwards of 3,500 photos. We have a few long-time members in various areas around the Okanagan who help monitor cameras, analyze photos, and gather evidence. All evidence is then turned over to the Conservation Office for further analysis and possible prosecutions which can include hefty fines. The group has also used drones to locate dump sites and photograph them.
Illegal dumping has not seemed to have slowed down, and the number of incidents continue to rise. We have encountered some scenarios where a single “hot spot” will have seen 3 illegal dumping violations in a week" Kane says.
“The volunteer turnout was amazing in 2020, and was a big reason why our cleanup events were so successful, even with Covid guidelines in place. We were even able to live-stream one of the cleanup events via drone-footage for other members to watch" explained Blake.
Since the creation of the group in 2016, OFTF has cleaned upwards of 300,000 pounds of illegally dumped garbage from our backcountry.
Video of Beaver Lake rd clean up https://youtu.be/AI7EGs5uogA
Kane extends a big “Thank you” to all OFTF’s volunteers and supporters. On behalf of the entire OFTF community, he also extends a huge “Thank you” to our local Conservation Officers without whom OFTF’s evidence-gathering program would be in vain.
Appreciation also goes to the local media outlets who have proved essential in bringing continued awareness to what are often unseen challenges and violations in the backcountry. “It’s our hope that our continued efforts in this New Year will help keep the backcountry clean and enjoyable for all” Kane says.