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[troutbreath]

Years ago you would be fined for doing that. It's the lack of enforcement that lets this stuff get out of hand. In the end other groups like people fishing, dirt/atv riders and hunters get blamed for these loser slobs who ruin it for others. Nail them to the cross with fines that help pay for the enforcement. Drinking in public isn't a issue, you can be sober and do the same things. It's usually a case of what you see is what you get. Alcohol just makes them worse. These people need fines and clinical help.....or medication....or a good kick in the sack.

[coryandtrevor]

Its pretty embarrassing to see all that garbage. We can blame our "disposable" society.

Our campsite this weekend looked similar to one of those in Rodney's pictures. Camp chairs, garbage strewn around, bags of cans and whatnot. The only difference is we either packed it up or packed it out. When we left the site was spotless.

Who can afford to leave perfectly good campchairs behind ? They seem to be the new burnt/dirty mattress you would always see out on the FSR's. I have seen them burnt in several fire pits and once found a ring of them on the Squamish way out on a remote gravel bar. there was like a ring of 7 or so. The people must have just got up and walked away. Appalling. 

The solution ? Its hard to say. People have to take responsibility for there own actions first and foremost. Then enforcement comes into play. The local establishments could be in there after the weekend to clean all that crap up before the bears and hobos get into it and further spread the crap around.

Thanks to all who clean up after themselves and to those who organize cleanups to tidy up what we all enjoy !

Peace

[mykisscrazy]

I don't know what it is but that whole area - Chilliwack River Valley - seems to be a magnet for people who just don't understand and or don't care about the environment. Nothing surprises me what people leave behind up there. That , the crowds, and the breakins is why I avoid the area.

[RossP]

We no longer take out of town guest up into the Chilliwack Valley at this time of year because of the state
of it. Alot of them want to see this world class river but we discourage them because of the bone heads
that leave behind all the garbage and the risk you take leaving your car unattended. Two years ago we took
friends up to see the river, parked the car right beside the road, left the car and walked to the river. We
were gone 10 minutes and the car was broken into in that amount of time. Our friends from San Diego
were not impressed at all with the amount of garbage they saw or the fact we were broken into out
in the middle of what could be pristine area.
Now before i get jumped on I have helped out on the a few of the clean up days when work allowed it and
I do pack out trash when I do fish the river. I love the river and will continue to go there by myself I just will
not take out of town guests there. Yes I am ashamed of the state of the valley.
Nuff said for now.

[TrophyHunter]

   We all know who is responsible for this mess, the same thing happens year after year by the same people, individuals and groups that have no respect for others because they were never taught that simple rule by their parents !! it is a shame that they treat the earth this way, but I guess when nobody taught you any better you have to get taught the hard way!! obviously more enforcement or for that matter ANY enforcement is desperatly needed for areas such as this !

   A few garbage cans set up through any areas that are being used as makeshift campsites would make a bit of a difference, even those with no brains or respect might actually make the effort to throw their trash there instead of the ground, it is very sad to see pictures such as these, I was brought up a very different way than the youths today, I was taught right from wrong and I was taught to respect others and the earth... too bad parents don't have or take the time to do this anymore

TH

[RossP]

I do not know if a garbage can at these site will make any difference to
those that are the offenders. I live right in front of a bus stop and the
same kind of people that trash the site also throw thier garbage on our l
awn instead of using the trash can at the bus stop. The only way to get
them to  start respecting the enviroment is to hit them were it hurts,
in the pocket book.

[CHUMHUNTER]

Absolutely disgusting!!!!  No respect for laws , environment , people or themselves. Like the song says maybe we need to start putting more of these idiots in the ground and get away from this permissive society where they can do whatever they want. If you say something you get sworn at or worse. Way more enforcement will be needed but it starts with enforcement at home first.

[Xgolfman]

It hasn't started now with the camping season..The trainbridge area has been a mecca for getting trashed as soon as it was warm enough for people to make camp fires...They chop down the trees and leave them laying on the ground, They make pits with pallets that leave nails and garbage everywhere...Fish it in May and it's a constant...I also think the horse people should be held accountable for their actions..You see bags for people with dogs but there is horse sh*t everywhere..they ride their animals into the water and across with no respect to the fisherman fishing the run....I've had them stop in below me when my fly was way below their horses legs and just stand there...They ride up the sides of banks etc. but everyone seems to think that is fine? WHY?
While they are only a small problem, you basically have zero enforcement of any kind...I think part of it is the local business's who would scream bloody murder about losing business that the idiots bring in when they are on the river... It would only take two patrol cars, one on the top and one for down below to make rounds a couple times a day to straighten out the matter...but in a town with crackheads wandering around and no one bothering them..why would they bother about about the vedder?

[rollin]

 That is uncalled for! people wonder why they have to pay for camping in some parks, and can't park on the side of the road to enjoy that beautiful strech of river or lake. because people are done cleaning up aftre them.

[yamadirt 426]

Well enforcement is the key.  I don't want to see barricades all over the bush.

[pepsitrev]

kind of makes you wonder what these pigs live like at home now dont it. tottally sickens me.

[chris gadsden]

Today's ChIlliwack Progress

Mess left by long weekend campers ‘a stain’
By Jennifer Feinberg - Chilliwack Progress - May 22, 2008     

Long-weekend visitors left a huge mess at some of the riverside areas above Tamihi Creek where the no-camping and no-parking rules are not enforced.

Campers and partiers left behind mountains of garbage, camping gear and shotgun casings, according to Chris Gadsden of the Chilliwack Vedder River Cleanup Coalition.

“The area up to Tamahi looked good, but from there up things were near the worst I had ever seen,” he said. The long-time river steward and angler toured the forested areas after the long weekend to see if the promised enforcement clampdown through Section 58 went into effect.

“If we are really serious about dealing with this destruction of this area we must have a stronger support from the RCMP and the province with both providing enough personnel to deal with this stain on our environment,” Gadsden said. “Sometimes I think these law enforcement people are stretched too thin to cover areas like this.”

RCMP Const. Lea-Anne Dunlop said extra patrol cars covered Cultus Lake and the Chilliwack River Valley throughout the weekend.

“Things were relatively well-policed with the enhanced patrols and we didn’t get any extraordinary calls,” she said.

An additional 120 officer hours were logged as a result of the RCMP’s seasonal policing of the recreational areas, which was complemented by volunteer efforts from the local Citizens on Patrol.

“I do think the Section 58 is working and it’s certainly minimizing the number of campers below Tamihi,” Dunlop said.

Mayor Clint Hames, also FRVD chair, suggested the challenge still remains as to how to bring broader enforcement to the back country area, after viewing photos by Gadsden of the destruction left behind by visitors.

“I don’t think the people of Chilliwack should have to shell out tax money to police an area outside of our boundaries and it is clear that there aren’t enough provincially paid police to manage these areas on long weekends,” he said.

Some of the reports of garbage dumping occurred on Crown land, where people have “unlimited” access, he noted.

“Relying on their good graces to keep it clean and safe is clearly not working,” Hames observed. “We have put forward the idea of a special status ‘Protected Area’ or ‘Recreation Management Area’ so that rules would allow camping in designated areas only.

“To date, we have made little progress in this area and I fear that this kind of activity will continue,” the mayor added.

“Sad that we have people with so little respect.”

The mayor said he’d be happy to see the Section 58 area expanded, since it only stretches from the Vedder Bridge to Tamihi.

But only 10 RCMP files were opened on the weekend from police calls specifically from the Chilliwack River Valley area, said Dunlop, and only three from the seasonal policing efforts. Two were vehicle crashes and one was a report of a neighbourhood party.

“There were no calls about firearms discharging,” she said.

But campers will often bring firearms into the bush.

“Obviously that’s a concern if they’re not stored properly, or used in a dangerous manner or while the owners are consuming alcohol. Firearms and alcohol should never be combined.”

RCMP officers tried to be proactive, by patrolling the areas before the 11 p.m. deadline of no overnight camping or parking.

“It’s better to approach people while there’s still daylight, and before the campers are hunkered down for the night,” Dunlop said.

A total of 17 tickets were handed out by RCMP for vehicle-related and liquor infractions, there were more than 20 liquor seizures.

“Copious amounts of alcohol were dumped,” the officer added.

Five 24-hour road-side driving suspensions were handed out and one prohibited driver was taken off the road.

Boat patrols on Cultus Lake saw 17 warnings issued, and three charges laid for failing to have life jackets on the water, she said. Boaters were also checked to ensure all appropriate licensing and safety regulations were being followed.

[chris gadsden]

Chilliwack Times Today

Crackdown falls short
Paul J. Henderson, The Times
Published: Friday, May 23, 2008
The crackdown on illegal camping activity was on this past long weekend, but the result was pretty much the same as every year.

Maybe worse.

"The way I looked at it, it's just as bad if not worse than it ever has been in that area," Chris Gadsden, a director with the Chilliwack Vedder River Cleanup Coalition told the Times after the Victoria Day long weekend. "It gets frustrating."





In a blog posting on the FishingwithRod.com website, Gadsden posted numerous photos of garbage and mess left behind from illegal campers in the valley. The photos depict piles of garbage in various locations, some of which animals have gone through, as well as one photo of hundreds of spent shotgun shells taken on the Bench Forest Service Road.

Before the long weekend the Ch-ihl-kway-uhk Tribe Society sent out a press release to warn that the tribe, conservation and forestry officers, the Fraser Valley Regional District, local resident volunteers and RCMP members would be patrolling and would have a zero tolerance policy.

Denise van den Eerenbeemt, general manager for the Ch-ihl-kway-uhk Tribe Society, said there was relative quiet in the area below the Tamihi bridge, which is covered by a provincial government Section 58 order forbidding overnight camping, but above the bridge things were different.

"There were lots of reports of drinking, ATVs on the road, fireworks and lots of garbage," she said. "Unfortunately, the normal."

For Gadsden there needs to be more enforcement, although he certainly does not point the blame at frontline conservation officers or RCMP members.

"I've sent this to Barry [Penner] too because I keep hounding away at him to get more conservation officers," he said.

The issue for some is that more and more people from the Lower Mainland want to get up into the beautiful valley to camp on summer weekends, and there isn't enough legal camping.

After the long weekend the RCMP reported that enhanced patrols in the valley and at Cultus Lake added an additional 120 hours of policing resources.

On the weekend RCMP members issued 17 violation tickets for motor vehicle act and liquor control and licence act offences. In addition there was: 20 liquor seizures and "copious amounts" of alcohol dumped; five 24-hour roadside suspensions issued; 17 warnings given to boaters; and three charges laid for not wearing life jackets.

In addition to the zero tolerance crackdowns, 44 calls for service in the areas were responded to in the valley and at Cultus.

[Xgolfman]

I'm kind of confused by part of this...The residents pretty much made their own bed by shutting down the mid river section, for their own reasons..and why I stopped doing clean ups on the vedder!!! So now basically the law is saying that's the area they are concerned about patrolling and the rest is fair game? WELL? Wasn't this already addressed on here ad nausium? Wasn't this exactly what many said would happen AND that the police would ONLY worry about the mid river section??? HMmmmm sure seems that way to me...

I wonder why the residents up there (Chris?) don't form a block watch group and go out and take license plate #'s and photo's of the campers while they are there and then turn them in if the area is trashed? Or go out in groups and take back your river by phoning the local police with reports from up river and high powered strobe lights directed on the offenders??
Sometimes all talk is just that!! Sounds like a bunch of hen's waiting for a rooster to step forward!!!!

[chris gadsden]

There is 16 volunteers (Chiliwack River Valley Citizens on Patrol) that do what you have mentioned but the area is so large to deal with and they donot go into one of the worse area's because of safety concerns they tell me.

Saying this, it comes down to the law enforcement to handle this in my mind, volunteers can only do much.

Many volunteer as you know (CVRCC) have spent a lot of time cleaning up the area from the Freeway Bridge to the Chilliwack River Hatchery and we are glad we have so many that come and help out. Can you imagine all the garbage that would be out there as well as washed into the river and down to the ocean if this had not been done over the last 6 years.
Besides other groups have now organized cleanups the last month at Peg Leg Bar and Jesperson Boat launch area. Progress is being made to correct this attack on our environment.

Also many other recreational users including anglers that may not attend the cleanups but do cleanups each and everytime they are out on the river or in the outdoors. That is just great and helps a great deal.

No effort or solution is perfect but doing a little is better than nothing.

When I leave this planet hopefully I have done my part at trying to make it better for those left behind.


Thanks for your post Xgolfman and for doing your part many times.