STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

The Bench Lake Fire and Wapiti Fire near Stanley have kept many out of the area this summer. Now, environmental organizations are asking fans of the Sawtooth Mountains to come, anyway.

Several organizations are seeking volunteers to help clean up the Sawtooth National Recreation Area (SNRA) as they have done for the past four years.

Volunteers may sign up to clean areas of the front and/or backcountry on a date or dates of their choosing through Sept. 30. Volunteers will be able to decide for themselves when and where.

To date, 234 industrial-sized bags of garbage have been removed from the SNRA during the annual cleanup. Volunteers have also broken up illegal fire rings, taken unofficial structures apart, pulled weeds and dealt with human waste.

“It started with a plea for help during the pandemic,” said Susan James, Recreation Program Manager with the SNRA. “A few partners jumped in and organized a cleanup. The group has since rallied a community of local partners and volunteers, turning the cleanup into an annual event. This is a fun, hands-on opportunity to help protect the core values of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area.”

Congress established the SNRA in 1972 to preserve and protect the area’s natural, scenic, historic, pastoral and fish and wildlife values and to provide for the enhancement of the area’s recreation values.

Organizations partnering on this year’s cleanup include the U.S. Forest Service, the Idaho Conservation League, Sawtooth Society, Idaho Trails Association, Sawtooth Interpretive and Historical Association, the Environmental Resource Center, Idaho Rivers United, and Wood River Trails Coalition.

To take part in the cleanup go to https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeOXA_ofWoFCsODxMRmx5t6QUJzgUuTTkjTDRLRgW0wInc6_w/viewform.