Tired of seeing Forest debris?

A non-profit group that’s made a mark removing trash in other parts of the Willamette National Forest since 2017 is now expanding its cleanup efforts to the McKenzie area. Over the last year, Friends of Fall Creek Watershed (FoFCW) has removed 28 abandoned vehicles and over 143,000 pounds of trash from public lands, mainly in the Oakridge and Fall Creek drainages.

“We recently cleaned to the north end of Aufderheide Drive and just completed removing an abandoned RV,” according to FoFCW president Steve Allaway. The group also removed an SUV found down an embankment above the McKenzie Bridge transfer station.

A grant from the Forest Service funds dump fees, along with asbestos tests and mitigation, as well as the towing cost for removing things like that discarded vehicle. Allaway and Mac Flood took on that project and spent 38 1/2 hours working on the site above King Road, along Forest Road 410. Tasks there ranged from safely testing and disposing of the RV’s contaminated roof, walls, and decking, to hauling other debris to Lane County’s Short Mountain Landfill and recycling several metal components.

If people are interested in helping “return the Forest to a state we all can enjoy,” Allaway says an opportunity is knocking.“It’s not glamorous work, but we would like to invite everyone to show up and help us out,” he says. “We handle all the hazmat, so it’s just the trash.”

There are plenty of options, starting with just opening trash bags or taking photos. Other entry-level assistance could come in the form of being on the lookout for abandoned vehicles and campsites in the Forest and letting the FoFCW know about them, Allaway says. “We’ll get them cleaned up as soon as we get volunteers organized.”

For more information contact Friends of Fall Creek Watershed at 541-357-8411, [email protected], and facebook.com/fofcw