Local forest rangers to monitor illegal dumsites with help of new surveillance camera
Local forest rangers will be monitoring illegal dump sites more closely thanks to a surveillance camera donated by the Uniontown Chapter of the Izaak Walton League. “The board felt it’s been a long time since they did anything for conservation in the county,” Vice President of the Uniontown Chapter Corky Johnston said.
Paul Leasure and Brian Price, forest rangers for the southwest district of the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), attended the chapter’s monthly meeting recently to display the camera that will rotate between well-known illegal dump sites in an attempt to catch the culprits.
“It’s a tool that’s going to be used to solve littering and vandalism cases,” said Leasure.
The $500 camera is the first device for surveillance used by the southwest district, which covers 60,000 acres in Fayette, Westmoreland and Somerset counties.
“Dumping is a major issue in each county,” Leasure said.
“You get the word out there and things like that will slack off,” he added.
The camouflaged camera will supplement the rangers’ roving patrols in Fayette County, where numerous illegal dump sites exist. Refrigerators, televisions, tires, drywall, you name it and it’s dumped, Leasure said.
“I’m talking truckloads of garbage,” he said. “I’m convinced that there are some who never pay their garbage bills to have their trash taken out in their life.”
The same habitual dumpers litter the same sites, Price said.
“There’s a small part of the population that does it, but they do it consistently,” he said. “If there’s already a dump there, they’ll keep it up at the same site.”
Besides proving to be an eyesore, dump sites may lower property values, pose an environmental threat and threaten the reputation of the area and of the state.
“People come to this area to visit Laurel Caverns or another local attraction and there lies a refrigerator,” Leasure said. “It just doesn’t look good for the area or for the state.”
“Who wants to be living next to a dump site?” Price asked.
Leasure said the southwest district works with PA Cleanways and the state Game Commission to keep those sites clean of waste.
Rangers said they recently noticed increased cooperation from the public and from local magistrates concerning punishing culprits of illegal dumping crimes.
“We’re getting a lot of support from the public, also,” said Price, telling the story of one person who saw someone throw a beer bottle from a car, and volunteered to testify in court against the litterbug.
Price said people can pay up to $1,000 for littering crimes, including fines and the price of restitution that reserve costs to clean up dump sites.
“Sometimes the restitution is worse than the fine,” Price noted.
Johnston said the effort began when DCNR approached the Izaak Walton League, knowing they would be interested in doing a community service such as this.
“We are just trying to help these guys out and cut down on the illegal dumping in Fayette County,” said Johnston, noting he hunts in the area’s forests and sees illegal dumping firsthand.
Johnston said the Izaak Walton League was the first conservation organization in the state to donate a camera to capture surveillance of illegal dump sites.
The league consists of 50,000 people nationwide who are dedicated to protecting the nation’s soil, air, woods, waters and wildlife, according to the league’s Web site at www.iwla.org
. The league is open to new members by calling Johnston at 724-439-6047.
Price said the district is always looking for volunteers to help clean up sites of illegal dumping.
“Because this is an effort that concerns all of our citizens,” Price said.