St. Helen Area forest clean up.

[brewmenn]

One of the events WAS a clean up, so I'm off the hook.

Anyway, I know how discouraging this seems. Don't let a lack of turnout get you down. Just keep plugging away at it. It is still a very good project to do. It will grow.

I can't stress enough how much these kind of events bring us positive PR. The Two Trackers cleanup on the west side of the state has helped open doors with the Forest Service.

For those of you that can make it, please do so. It really does make a difference. Not only for the PR it generates but because its the right thing to do.

A lot of people see a problem and say "Someone ought to do something about that". Well, be that someone. Talk somebody else into being one of those 'someones' too. I did it. Bruce is doing it. Now, how about you?

Yes, I hate say it but this cleanup seems to have somewhat become a victim of the 2 trackers cleanup’s success. I had feared that this would happen before I started this, but after talking with Pat we thought that because they are in different parts of the state, and mine being the following weekend that I would pick enough people that didn’t want to drive all the way over there, or who couldn’t make it that weekend would come to this cleanup. That has not happened. It seems that most people that are willing to a cleanup have started planning their time around going to that one and feel that they are then “off the hook” for doing another. I’m not pointing the finger at you Gary, I’m agreeing with you that asking people go do forests cleanup’s 2 weekends in a row is probably asking too much.
As if it wasn’t already extremely difficult to get people out this year, next year would be worse. Easter is very late next year, April 24th, which would require me to switch to a different weekend. Presumably the weekend before will be the 2 trackers cleanup, and I don’t want to try to do it any earlier in the year than that because in St. Helen you run the risk of finding snow cover and frozen ground which would make things difficult. The weekend after would be the Blessing, and after that Mothers day, neither which I want to compete with. Beyond that people’s schedules tend to get even busier. So I just don’t see it happening next spring.
I would consider the possibility of doing something in the fall of 2011, but only if someone else takes on the task of recruiting volunteers. I’ll do the rest.

[Ridin Dirty]

I'm trying to recruit, Bruce. People seem to be simply ignoring it. No real responses anywhere.

[brewmenn]

I'm trying to recruit, Bruce. People seem to be simply ignoring it. No real responses anywhere.

That is the most frustrating part. No one seems to even care enough to click on the thread and make an excuse for why they won't be there.

[brewmenn]

As Jarhead pointed out to me I may have made some incorrect assumptions regarding the scheduling of event for next year. April 30th might be a good date for next year.

If the Swampstompers continue to support this cleanup I'll keep putting it together. If it hadn't been for the Swampstompers it would have been me and Jarhead out there with rakes and shovels cleaning up.

Putting these cleanups together is actually pretty easy. Ada Takas, who runs the program for the DNR is absolutely terrific to work with. She makes it easy. Getting people to come out and help if the only difficult part, and some times it seems almost impossible.

[Trail_Fanatic]

As Jarhead pointed out to me I may have made some incorrect assumptions regarding the scheduling of event for next year. April 30th might be a good date for next year.

If the Swampstompers continue to support this cleanup I'll keep putting it together. If it hadn't been for the Swampstompers it would have been me and Jarhead out there with rakes and shovels cleaning up.

Putting these cleanups together is actually pretty easy. Ada Takas, who runs the program for the DNR is absolutely terrific to work with. She makes it easy. Getting people to come out and help if the only difficult part, and some times it seems almost impossible.

Hang in there buddy.
I know EXACTLY how you feel!
The Two Tracker's Clean Up had less than 20 volunteers until its 5th year.

It takes time.
The fact that you filled a 30 yard roll-off also speaks volumes.
That's not easy. The volunteers you do have area obviously committed.
My hats off to the Swamp Stompers. They are obviously a club who "gets it". But then they've demonstrated that for years.

TT's participation was also way down from the last couple of years.
Might be the Cedar Creek Tickets, might be the MVUM, might just be the 38 degrees and 30 mile an hour wind that morning. Maybe the event's peaked.
Who knows. To tell the truth, I don't care. I'm just happy that the trash gets picked up. If volunteerism dropped to the point that it was just me and a couple of friends grabbing a couple of bags worth, so be it. It's something.

Heck that pretty well describes years 3 and 4 of the TT event!

[brewmenn]

The good news is that I don't think we will ever have to have as big of an operation nor go as long as the Two trackers cleanup. We made some major progress this year. Another 3-4 year like this year and we will have most of the bad areas cleaned up except for possibly the one area that actually did used to be a dump and people kept dumping there after it closed. Most of the stuff we cleaned up looked to be decades old. There is little evidence of new dumping in the area.

My hope is that by year 10 this cleanup will be more like a trail ride where we stop every once and a while to pick up something that someoen dropped.