Volunteers clean up over 8,400 pounds of trash from local trail
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IDAHO FALLS – More than 8,400 pounds of trash was removed during a clean up project along the Hell’s Half Acre trail in Shelley.
The trail clean up project happened on May 18 and was a partnership between the Bureau of Land Management and the Snake River Offroading Club.
More than 50 people helped remove 980 pounds of scrap metal and appliances in the area, and another 7,475 pounds of trash, for a total of 8,455 pounds.
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The trail cleanup lasted four hours.
“A huge thank you to all of our club volunteers who gave up their Saturday to remove hundreds of pounds of trash,” club Vice President Erica Brunson writes in a news release.
The BLM provided rollback dumpsters, dump trailers and trash bags for those who participated.
The club, which was formed in 1999, is a nonprofit that promotes offroading on trails throughout eastern Idaho. Helping the BLM maintain eastern Idaho’s public lands through clean up projects is part of its mission.
Club members say trails are not a garbage dumping ground and they’re asking people to pick up after themselves.
“The Hell’s Half Acre area of Shelley holds a special place in the heart of our club, and we work significantly every year to help keep this area free of trash and debris. Many in our club donate vehicles, tractors, dump trailers, time and fuel … only to have (it) fill back up with trash in a few weeks,” the news release says.
Keeping public lands clean allows the BLM to keep trails open and the group invites the community to join them in future clean up efforts.
The Snake River Offroading Club meets the first Thursday of every month at Homestead Pizza & Bowling at 1770 West Broadway in Idaho Falls. It starts at 7 p.m.
