Trash nation: learn how to prevent your public lands from being trashed.

In recent years the nation has turned into a trash dump. It has become quite common to drive down the road, and see the person in a car in front of you throwing out a hamburger wrapper or other debris. Each piece of trash contributes to the problem and our environment suffers.

It is hard to imagine why a person would take a truck load of garbage and decide to dump that garbage in the middle of a recreation area, campground, trailhead, river, lake or other natural public area. Most people would not back into their neighbors' driveways and dump their trash, so why do so many people think it is okay to throw trash out the window of a moving car or dump garbage on public lands?

Illegal dumping and littering on public lands is a serious problem across the country. Not only does it detract from the beauty of the landscape, it also causes health problems and environmental hazards.

Attracting rodents and pests and polluting our rivers and lakes, dumping has become everyone's problem. On any given day, recreation professionals working for agencies across the nation find tires, refrigerators, paint cans, yard waste, construction materials, toilets, bath tubs, batteries, oil cans, asbestos and a multitude of other items.

In contrast to some public opinion, public lands are not the preferred areas for dumping of the aforementioned items. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified many of these items for special disposal. Proper removal can be costly to the agencies recovering the items, and can require additional manpower and equipment causing reduction in public services. For example, from 1993 to 2003, the Kentucky Division of Waste Management reported more than $51.8 million was spent to clean up more than 21,000 illegal dump sites. In 2003, the Kentucky Forest Service was slated to spend about $30,000 to cleanup 25 illegal dump sites along the Trinity River. These and similar projects take an estimated two weeks to complete and divert funds that could be used to improve recreational facilities.

The U.S. is the world leader in solid waste, producing 236 million tons of garbage in 2003. This is an increase of 148 million tons since 1960. According to the EPA, the average human has doubled his production of garbage since 1960, producing 4.5 pounds a day. So it is no surprise that we have serious littering and dumping problems.

The mentality that one piece of trash won't hurt is a problem that we must overcome if we are to be successful in changing the tide and making the public aware and accountable for its negative impacts on our environment. (See "Tips from the Field").

In an U.S. Army Corps of Engineers environmental program for fifth grade classes, one young lady raised her hand and said she didn't see what the problem was with throwing trash on the ground, and could not see the difference between trash in a landfill and trash in a public area.

Shocked? I was the ranger who had to respond to that fifth grader and her class. We must make our youngsters aware of the negative impacts littering and dumping can have on our environment if we hope to decrease this problem in the future.

Stephen Stone, natural resources park ranger with the Army Corps, says dumping is a major problem at his project, the Atchafalaya Basin Floodway System in Louisiana. According to Stone, catching the people responsible is almost impossible. On one occasion, rangers found a large dump of old shingles and parts from a car, including a hood with a vehicle identification number that was traced back to the violator. The man was given 24 hours to clean up the dump and provide a receipt verifying that he had properly disposed of the garbage.

Corps of Engineers projects across the nation as well as other local, state and federal agencies face the same challenges as Stone and his colleagues. In many cases, violators who are caught are made responsible for the cleanup of their dumps. This simple action can affect their outlook on dumping in a more profound way than making them pay a fine.

Citizen groups are also valuable allies in the war against litterbugs. Chad Pregracke is the founder and president of Living Lands and Waters, a non-profit environmental organization established in 1998 "to aid in the protection, preservation and restoration of the natural environment of the nation's major rivers and their watersheds." Pregracke has witnessed what dumping has done to public lands and waters. His commitment to "produce results, not rhetoric" can be seen by the success of his organization. In 2004, Living Lands and Waters recovered an estimated 200 million pounds of trash. Some of the items recovered were kitchen appliances, tractors, vehicles, antifreeze bottles, mattresses and even messages in bottles.

In addition to river cleanup, Living Lands and Water provides educational workshops, River Bottom Forest Restoration Projects, the Adopt-A-Mississippi River Mile program, and provides a community clean-up organization plan for communities nationwide who want to get involved and clean up their public lands and rivers.

Pregracke believes there are four components to being successful in protecting and cleaning up our public lands:

* You have to believe in what you are doing;

* You have to be excited about your cause;

* You have to be motivated; and

* You have to be persistent.

In Washington State, another group is taking up the clean-up cause. Founded in 1996, Friends of the Trail formed much the same way as Living Lands and Waters--someone looked around and saw the problems dumping was causing to the environment. Founder Wade Holden decided to do something about the problem and his motivation and persistence have paid off. During an eight-year period, Friends of the Trail has removed more than 900 tons of raw garbage, about 400 appliances, thousands of tires and more than 100 vehicles from public recreation areas, hiking trails and waterways in Washington.

As public lands caretakers, these success stories have to be publicized to get our communities excited and motivated.

There are many ways to involve the public in preventing pollution of its lands and waters.

Since 1970, the nation has celebrated Earth Day on April 22. Celebration and support of environmental concerns was championed by the recently deceased Sen. Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, who was determined to "forcibly thrust the issue of environmental quality and resources conservation into the political dialogue of the nation." National Public Lands Day also embraces the notion of protecting our public lands and providing service to the community.

Solving the problem of dumping on public lands and waters is no easy task. Educating the public is one of the best ways to proactively thwart public dumping. Teaching the public to be environmental stewards can be accomplished with interpretive programming, newspaper and magazine articles, brochures, community outreach kits for schools and many other types of media.

Encouraging your community to take action is another way to combat vandalism. By establishing a park watch or public lands watch, you can get the community involved and give them ownership of their lands. In days of tight budgets and staff reductions, it is imperative to get the community involved to assist in filling the gaps to protect our lands. Once the community becomes involved, its residents will begin to report illegal dumping and trashing of public areas more frequently. So, provide them with the information and opportunity to report dumping and littering on public lands. Arm them with information so they are not afraid to get involved. Encourage them to call local police or public agencies with license plate information that can assist in catching violators.

As stewards of our nation's lands, we all must work hard to educate the public about how to maintain its land and waters. We must not get jaded in our efforts, but push forward to reach our goals. By setting an example, we can encourage others to be good stewards.

We must provide opportunities to get people to public areas for cleanups and enhancement projects. If we can get their hands dirty and show them what they have accomplished, they will understand why it is so important to not litter and dump. They will see that one person can make a difference.

Tips from the Field

Dumping trash in parks, recreation areas and trails is equivalent to dumping in a neighbor's backyard. Here are some programming ideas to implement in your community, and inspire residents to take action and protect their own land.

1. Promote Recycling--provide recycling stations; coordinate a community disposal day for hazardous materials such as tires, paint and appliances.

2. Organize a clean-up--get your hands dirty. Get out there and lend a hand to the environment by picking up litter and cleaning dump sites.

3. Adopt-a-park program--Allow individuals or community groups to adopt a park or public land area and clean up the area once a month.

4. Believe and promote the 4 Rs--reduce, reuse, recycle and re-buy.

5. Don't Litter, Take personal responsibility for your trash!--remember, if you are a champion for a cleaner environment you won't contribute to the problem.

6. Composting--Consider composting food waste and yard trimmings. This will reduce your amount of garbage and eliminate the need to dump a truckload of grass clippings in the middle of a recreation area.

7. Ensure public areas are well lit--vandals and litter bugs will be discouraged to target those areas that are in clear view.

8. Establish a park watch program and make sure signs are up designating the area is being watched--If vandals know that people are keeping an eye on the area, they will be discouraged.

9. Video monitoring--An expensive alternative, but effective in catching park vandals, and discouraging future attacks.

10. Get involved--the more people get involved in their local parks, the less chance they will look away when vandalism occurs in their park.