STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

Volunteers are needed for the 2023 Sawtooth National Recreation Area End-of-Season Cleanup.

The Idaho Conservation League, Environmental Resource Center, Idaho Trails Association, Idaho Rivers United, Sawtooth Interpretive and Historical Society, Wood River Trails Coalition, Sawtooth Society and U.S Forest Service are spearheading the effort to clean up locations impacted by heavy visitor use this past summer.

The first End-of-Season Cleanup was held in 2020 in response to an unprecedented influx of visitors in the wake of the COVID pandemic. That year volunteers cleared more than 300 pounds of trash and 150 illegal campfire rings.

“We have to remember that our Public Lands are a shared space,” said John Robison, public lands director for the ICL. “As much as we all reap the benefits of these spaces, we must also recognize that we have a responsibility to look after them.”

The cleanup effort runs today through Saturday, Sept. 30. Volunteers may choose the dates that best suit them. Volunteers will be provided with instructions, trash bags, latex gloves, snacks and other resources.

Register at https://forms.gle/fUeg1TprzZ5oqvuk8.