Huron Pines AmeriCorps and Adopt-a-Forest team up

Have you ever been on a peaceful nature hike and suddenly come upon an unsightly pile of trash? If you have, then you know that illegal dumping is a big problem in Michigan.

As of March 31, 2009, there were well over 1,000 known illegal dump sites around the state.  By county, Grand Traverse, Roscommon, Cheboygan, Kalkaska and Montmorency counties have the highest numbers of dump sites.

That’s why Huron Pines is working to address this problem starting with the 53 sites in Roscommon County. With the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Adopt-a-Forest program and Huron Pines AmeriCorps, we are developing a program to pull together local businesses and volunteers to clean up illegal dump sites.

Through a combination of volunteer workdays and adopted sites, we are hoping to reduce the number of trash sites by at least 75%. Students from Roscommon High School kicked off the program in May. At the Roscommon Public Land Clean-up later in May, 11 volunteers at cleaned 5 sites around Tank Creek and removed over 30 cubic yards of old carpet, trash and tires.

To date, volunteers have cleaned 10 sites in Roscommon County and 8 sites in Crawford County– removing 70 cubic yards of trash, 1,100 pounds of metal and three dozen tires.

In addition, Huron Pines is working on a stormwater study for the Village of Roscommon. The primary objective is to protect the South Branch of the Au Sable River and its tributaries from sediment and pollutants associated with storm water discharges. With the help of the Village of Roscommon and the Michigan Department of Transportation, Huron Pines assembled maps and documented stormwater catch basins and outfalls. Next, we will be assessing flow patterns and conducting a stream survey of outfalls into Robinson Creek.

Want to help clean up Roscommon County? Please contact our Huron Pines AmeriCorps Water Quality Specialist, Dan Schultz, at (989) 344-0753 x 14. 

Read the 2009 Roscommon County Update.