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Trashing and abuse of public lands has run amok, state officials say
By PERRY BACKUS of the Missoulian
Tony Liane, left, and Jonathan Hansen, both with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, have spent years cleaning up after irresponsible users of public lands. The two visited an illegal dump west of Missoula on Thursday morning and found everything from whole deer carcasses to discarded auto parts.
Photo by MICHAEL GALLACHER/Missoulian
Jonathan Hansen peered through the bullet holes in his $300 sign.
“Take a look for yourself,” said the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation Missoula Unit manager. “You can see homes down there if you look through the bullet holes.
“Any responsible firearm owner wouldn't shoot at a target like that,” said Hansen. “There are people down there who tell me they're often afraid to come out of their homes when the bullets start to fly.”
Hansen was standing on a bluff overlooking the Bitterroot River within a stone's throw of the Deep Creek Road.
The area was littered with bright red spent shotgun shell casings. The DNRC signs that say shooting is prohibited have been knocked over and thrown over the edge.
Last year, the DNRC spent $50,000 to winch out five or six dump truck loads of old appliances, animal carcasses and other junk that had been dumped over the edge of a hill at the Dry Gulch Gravel Pit. The state has so far spent another $30,000 to line the road with concrete barriers in an effort to encourage people to dispose of their trash properly.
From the looks of the discarded mattress, truck door and deer carcasses, some haven't picked up on that message.
For the likes of Hansen and DNRC area manager Tony Liane, the recurring mess is nothing less than discouraging.
“Just because it's state land, people tend to think they can do whatever they want,” said Liane. “It's a small percentage of people who are doing all of this, but it makes it tough for everybody.”
The Dry Gulch gravel pit stands out as a sore spot for DNRC.
Before the state took action last year to cordon off the road, the bluff overlooking the river was apparently too tempting for folks either too lazy or too cheap to dispose of their garbage responsibly. The state had to hire a logging contractor to winch the junk back up to the road where it could be hauled away.
“We had washing machines, tires and all kinds of trash. There were five gallon buckets of something we never did identify,” said Hansen. “They'd just back it up to the edge and dump it. It was pretty ugly.”
It got so ugly that a neighbor finally went to the state's Department of Environmental Quality to file a complaint.
“The DEQ slapped us with a violation of solid waste management last year sometime around March,” he said. “We started the cleanup soon after that.”
The mess isn't limited to lands managed by the DNRC. Just down the road toward Harper's Bridge, lands owned by Plum Creek Timber Co. and Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks are pocked with illegal off-road vehicle trails, shot-up signs and trees blasted in two by some serious gunfire.
“This isn't just a DNRC problem,” said Liane. “The fish and game and Forest Service face the same kind of problems. Industrial forestlands like those owned by Plum Creek are being abused just like ours. It's one of the reasons you see people putting up gates. They just get tired of it.”
Residents living in the area are tired of the free-for-all that sometimes occurs along the roadway.
One woman, who asked that her name not be used for fear of reprisal, said her husband has been beaten, they've been harassed by gangs of dirt bike riders and have had to dodge people blasting away at targets set up in the middle of the road.
“In the past, people have felt like they could come up here and be free from law enforcement,” she said. “It has gotten better. I have to credit the sheriff's department for that.
“I don't think the people causing the trouble are representative of their groups,” she said. “They are like the opposite of the cream of the crop.”
To make a lasting change, she said, all of the local agencies are going to have to work together and create a coordinated plan about what's going to be acceptable and what's not. And then someone is going to have take responsibility for ensuring the laws are enforced.
Rory Zarling, a conservation specialist with FWP's enforcement division, said the state will step up its law enforcement activities in the area this year.
FWP owns a small piece of property near Harper's Bridge that's intended to be a day-use area for fishermen and picnickers. But over the years, it has attracted its share of beer parties and off-road vehicle riders, which is something that Zarling and others hope to deter.
The place has become a favorite meeting spot for the younger crowd who enjoy huge bonfires created by burning wooden pallets. Last year, FWP crews picked up 25 gallons of nails from ash piles. The area also attracts its share of trash dumpers, firearm enthusiasts and off-road vehicle riders - all activities that are illegal.
Folks breaking the law can expect more than just a warning starting right now.
“We started our efforts last year with both verbal and written warnings,” he said. “Starting now, we're going to be handing out citations for violations. The fines will probably be in the $85 to $120 range.
“This is an area that has some wide mood swings. There are a lot of fun things that happen there and there are a lot of things that aren't so good,” said Zarling. “We want people to know that this area isn't a free-for-all. There are restrictions and they can expect to see more of us.”
The abuse of state lands isn't limited to the Dry Gulch area.
In the Bitterroot Valley, people have been dumping, vandalizing and using off-road vehicles to rip up 440 acres of state land just east of Corvallis in the Soft Rock area.
“It's been totally hammered,” said Liane. “There's so much illegal four-wheeler activity that soils are really taking a beating.”
The state has made several attempts to clean up the area, but people continue to illegally dump garbage, tear up signs and create new trails across the property.
“It ends up costing us a great deal of money,” he said. “It's effective for a time, but then it all starts up again. The private landowners living next door are fed up with all this stuff. It often slops over on them.
“If we did some of these same things while harvesting timber on state lands, we'd be condemned for it,” said Liane. “There's got to be a change of attitude of what's appropriate on public lands. People need to be responsible for their own actions.”
By PERRY BACKUS of the Missoulian
Tony Liane, left, and Jonathan Hansen, both with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, have spent years cleaning up after irresponsible users of public lands. The two visited an illegal dump west of Missoula on Thursday morning and found everything from whole deer carcasses to discarded auto parts.
Photo by MICHAEL GALLACHER/Missoulian
Jonathan Hansen peered through the bullet holes in his $300 sign.
“Take a look for yourself,” said the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation Missoula Unit manager. “You can see homes down there if you look through the bullet holes.
“Any responsible firearm owner wouldn't shoot at a target like that,” said Hansen. “There are people down there who tell me they're often afraid to come out of their homes when the bullets start to fly.”
Hansen was standing on a bluff overlooking the Bitterroot River within a stone's throw of the Deep Creek Road.
The area was littered with bright red spent shotgun shell casings. The DNRC signs that say shooting is prohibited have been knocked over and thrown over the edge.
Last year, the DNRC spent $50,000 to winch out five or six dump truck loads of old appliances, animal carcasses and other junk that had been dumped over the edge of a hill at the Dry Gulch Gravel Pit. The state has so far spent another $30,000 to line the road with concrete barriers in an effort to encourage people to dispose of their trash properly.
From the looks of the discarded mattress, truck door and deer carcasses, some haven't picked up on that message.
For the likes of Hansen and DNRC area manager Tony Liane, the recurring mess is nothing less than discouraging.
“Just because it's state land, people tend to think they can do whatever they want,” said Liane. “It's a small percentage of people who are doing all of this, but it makes it tough for everybody.”
The Dry Gulch gravel pit stands out as a sore spot for DNRC.
Before the state took action last year to cordon off the road, the bluff overlooking the river was apparently too tempting for folks either too lazy or too cheap to dispose of their garbage responsibly. The state had to hire a logging contractor to winch the junk back up to the road where it could be hauled away.
“We had washing machines, tires and all kinds of trash. There were five gallon buckets of something we never did identify,” said Hansen. “They'd just back it up to the edge and dump it. It was pretty ugly.”
It got so ugly that a neighbor finally went to the state's Department of Environmental Quality to file a complaint.
“The DEQ slapped us with a violation of solid waste management last year sometime around March,” he said. “We started the cleanup soon after that.”
The mess isn't limited to lands managed by the DNRC. Just down the road toward Harper's Bridge, lands owned by Plum Creek Timber Co. and Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks are pocked with illegal off-road vehicle trails, shot-up signs and trees blasted in two by some serious gunfire.
“This isn't just a DNRC problem,” said Liane. “The fish and game and Forest Service face the same kind of problems. Industrial forestlands like those owned by Plum Creek are being abused just like ours. It's one of the reasons you see people putting up gates. They just get tired of it.”
Residents living in the area are tired of the free-for-all that sometimes occurs along the roadway.
One woman, who asked that her name not be used for fear of reprisal, said her husband has been beaten, they've been harassed by gangs of dirt bike riders and have had to dodge people blasting away at targets set up in the middle of the road.
“In the past, people have felt like they could come up here and be free from law enforcement,” she said. “It has gotten better. I have to credit the sheriff's department for that.
“I don't think the people causing the trouble are representative of their groups,” she said. “They are like the opposite of the cream of the crop.”
To make a lasting change, she said, all of the local agencies are going to have to work together and create a coordinated plan about what's going to be acceptable and what's not. And then someone is going to have take responsibility for ensuring the laws are enforced.
Rory Zarling, a conservation specialist with FWP's enforcement division, said the state will step up its law enforcement activities in the area this year.
FWP owns a small piece of property near Harper's Bridge that's intended to be a day-use area for fishermen and picnickers. But over the years, it has attracted its share of beer parties and off-road vehicle riders, which is something that Zarling and others hope to deter.
The place has become a favorite meeting spot for the younger crowd who enjoy huge bonfires created by burning wooden pallets. Last year, FWP crews picked up 25 gallons of nails from ash piles. The area also attracts its share of trash dumpers, firearm enthusiasts and off-road vehicle riders - all activities that are illegal.
Folks breaking the law can expect more than just a warning starting right now.
“We started our efforts last year with both verbal and written warnings,” he said. “Starting now, we're going to be handing out citations for violations. The fines will probably be in the $85 to $120 range.
“This is an area that has some wide mood swings. There are a lot of fun things that happen there and there are a lot of things that aren't so good,” said Zarling. “We want people to know that this area isn't a free-for-all. There are restrictions and they can expect to see more of us.”
The abuse of state lands isn't limited to the Dry Gulch area.
In the Bitterroot Valley, people have been dumping, vandalizing and using off-road vehicles to rip up 440 acres of state land just east of Corvallis in the Soft Rock area.
“It's been totally hammered,” said Liane. “There's so much illegal four-wheeler activity that soils are really taking a beating.”
The state has made several attempts to clean up the area, but people continue to illegally dump garbage, tear up signs and create new trails across the property.
“It ends up costing us a great deal of money,” he said. “It's effective for a time, but then it all starts up again. The private landowners living next door are fed up with all this stuff. It often slops over on them.
“If we did some of these same things while harvesting timber on state lands, we'd be condemned for it,” said Liane. “There's got to be a change of attitude of what's appropriate on public lands. People need to be responsible for their own actions.”
