Last week I went on an excellent adventure. I decided to try to walk into one of Arkansas’ great wildlife management areas in search of fat greenheads in flooded timber. I managed to convince two others that the 15-20-minute walk would be cake and we’d be hiking out with our limits in no time at all.
The 45-minute hike through the woods to find the water that morning led us through a maze of beautiful Arkansas forestry, and the flooded timber—once found—was a spectacle in and of itself. Unfortunately, I noticed a familiar trend I had witnessed all too often back home in Indiana: an unending trail of litter that seems to be a staple of many public hunting areas.
I am a public-land hunter. I enjoy the excitement of seeing other groups return to the boat ramp with their harvest. I relish in the fact that others think public land is overcrowded, and I use that to my advantage. I enjoy hunting areas that I feel I have put dollars into over the years with my license and stamp purchases. Whether public- or private-land hunting, even in far-reaching corners of huge properties, the scars of modernization can be found around every corner in the shape of a soda can, grocery sack or possibly even a couch. These remnants are left behind by those who care nothing about the wildness of these properties and show a complete disrespect for others who are there to enjoy them.
I found it interesting to see the cultural differences from Indiana to Arkansas even in the litter that was discarded. Twenty-ounce Mountain Dew bottles seem to make up the bulk of litter in many fish and wildlife areas in Indiana, but my first trek into the Arkansas public land exposed Dr. Pepper and Red Bull cans. Not that it makes any difference—it’s still unwanted trash in a natural area.
As the sun began to cut through the timber that morning, I leaned against a tree and soaked up the beauty of the flooded timber at daybreak. I watched as the sun’s golden hue managed to wrap around the edges of each tree as it rose higher in the sky. It wasn’t until about 8 a.m. that I began to notice the floating trail of litter. More cans, old shotgun shells, a Styrofoam cup or two, half a 5-gallon bucket, a Busch Light can. It wasn’t everywhere, but it was certainly present, tainting the picturesque sunrise in a hallowed place. It made me wonder what kind of person would leave his trash in such a wonderful place.
Dropping a bottle knowingly isn’t excusable. Finishing off an early-morning YooHoo while leaning against an oak and then chucking it into the timber should be considered an act of treason against those who use the WMA on a regular basis. Littering is littering no matter where it is done, but an outdoorsman or -woman who litters a WMA is much the same as someone who walks out his or her front door and dumps trash in the front yard. It is public property, so technically you, the public, own it. If someone was throwing trash in your front yard, would you want it picked up or at least know who was responsible?
These WMAs need to be policed by other outdoorsmen and -women. Many state agencies don’t have the resources to pick up coffee cups and Coke bottles every day, so it must be up to the owners: the public. Those who use these areas should police it to keep others from littering. It’s easy to begin the process. Every time you go out in the field, if you see an empty bag of Hot Fries floating past or a Slim Jim package stuck in a downed limb, scoop it up and throw it into your decoy bag to dispose of properly back at home.
Simple actions by those of us who consider ourselves conservationists can have a lasting impact on public areas all over the country. Keeping these places free of litter will allow us to spend more time enjoying the sunrise or sunset and offer the sense of wildness we are seeking. If every hunter that hunted public land across the nation took action and began policing THEIR land, the amount of litter on OUR property would be reduced significantly.
marty said,
December 4, 2008 @ 11:28 am
Shell casings should be picked up to. They are a major source of litter in many areas. If you don’t reload, save them for someone who does….
Tom said,
December 4, 2008 @ 6:56 pm
I couldn’t agree more. With the number of hunters decreasing in my area and more land being posted we as sportsmen & women need to present ourselves and act with the utmost respect for the land and the wildlife we enjoy hunting and watching. Trash not only looks bad but its extremely harmful to wildlife who can mistake it for food and get tangled in it , often times dieing of starvation or suffering from infected wounds. Often waterfowl and especially their young are prime victims. Let’s all do our part and not feed into the stereotype of the slob hunter and lets not put up with it because we all want to see more ducks in the sky and have places to hunt. Chris, thanks for this unfortunate but good reminder.
Rob Steiner said,
December 5, 2008 @ 12:12 am
Great article, I am writing a letter to the editor here in K’zoo about the same thing. Unfortunately, it happens everywhere. This morning I found a tennis shoe and a super-sized plastic cup floating in my favorite little section of the local public hunting area.
Bob Delzer said,
December 5, 2008 @ 11:52 pm
It really amazes me how light the bottle of soda (or beer) is while carrying it in full and how heavy the empty container must be that they can no longer carry it out. I get very furstrated when I find these empty containers all along my favorite trout streams. I guess it isn’t just hunters and fishermen and women though, I find the same thing going on on the golf courses that I use. I often wonder how messy they allow their house to get. I, like you try to pick up any trash I find and dispose of it when I get home. Keep up the good work.
Curtis Ferraresi said,
December 6, 2008 @ 10:46 pm
Im a young duck hunter, only been at this for 2 years. I have noticed during scouting that there had been more and more trash in the areas that i usually go to. Some public and some private property, its just crazy why people would trash a place where they hunt and where others hunt. on a different note i havent been this year but i will be heading to southeast missouri on the 10th of this month to do some duck hunting. So best of luck to everybody and lets hope that whoever reads this makes them think twice about leaveing unwanted trash.
John Cooksey Sr. said,
December 6, 2008 @ 11:40 pm
We hunt alot ok private land that we don`t own,
My Buddie and my promise to the land owners is ,
We won`t leave anything behind except foot prints and if we could we would take them with us!
We hunt public land here in central oklahoma and practice the same,
we even remove our and others trash including cigarett butts
Do the public land a favor, Take a small trash bag w/ you and fill it up with what you see on the way out.
if all Hunters did that,every trip out, How clean would our wildland be?
Scott said,
December 7, 2008 @ 7:48 pm
I think this has started to become a serious problem for many public hunting and fishing areas. I have absolutley no respect for someone like that, and I think they should have their license taken away for that type of behavior. I have also noticed that here in Georgia where I live there is an overwhelming number of soda cans everywhere but in the trash, which I beleive has a lot to do with no bottle deposit here. I was born and raised in northern Michigan and moved here to Georgia a few years ago and see way more trash in lakes and around streams here than I ever saw back home in Michigan. Great article, and I wish there were more sportsmen like you in my neck of the woods.
John said,
December 12, 2008 @ 9:22 am
I am a native of Arkansas and the problem is not only on public lands but everywhere. As a waterfowler it is a shame to hear and see this done to our public and private lands. The area belongs to the wildlife as much as it does to us. I only hope that other people will quit their ways and step up to combat this problem.
John said,
December 17, 2008 @ 1:11 am
My sons and I hunt on public land. We have hunted an area that is very difficult to get to and the hunts were always great. The lake has lowered and our honey hole is now dry. We scouted and found another area to hunt. Opening morning we arrived to find a group of hunters at the location we were going to set up. So we moved to a different area without any discussion in respect for these guys. We were able to get back to that spot a few days later and it looked like a trash dump. 2-3 hundred shell casings, five gallon buckets, empty skoal cans, you name it, it was there. We hunted for a bit and it was just killing me to sit in that dump and not clean it up. I decided to take the five gallon bucket, place all the trash and empty hulls in it and take it back to the truck to dispose of it. My 2 sons and I cleaned up the area and had a long conversation about the trash and not leaving it there. The ducks were flying but we weren’t shooting because we were on a mission to clean the area. We left the area empty handed with ducks but with great thoughts of setting examples for my children on what not to do.
The next morning we arrived and were met by 5-6 teenagers that had arrived around 2 in the morning to “beat” us to the hole. As the conversation continued, the “Spokesperson” for the group started cursing and really making a stink about someone removing his bucket. I admitted to him that it was I who took it hauling out all the trash that they had been leaving and offered to get it for him to start cleaning up after themeselves. He said nothing else after that. I was ready for a debate but didn’t want it to be done in front of my children. I don’t know what to think about the upcoming generation, but they need guidence. My kids, 17 and 11 learned a lession over the whole ordeal and I feel that they will respect any property they will hunt on in the future. But the trash has got to stop. We hunt in Arkansas, maybe they can add to the existing law of littering that all shell casings and empty boxes has to be removed before leaving the area. I dont know.
neil said,
December 17, 2008 @ 12:42 pm
I hunt both private and public land in Northern California. More often then not I hunt public land. I have noticed a huge amount of trash and it is disturbing, but there is an easy fix. When I’m picking up my decoys I pick all the trash around the blind and place them in my decoy bag. When I get home I dump out the decoy bag, throw away the trash and wash off my decoys. After they dry they go back into the bag. Not all trash is left by hunters and fisherman but I guarentee you that the left wing blames it on us. Don’t give them any ammo.
Jay said,
December 18, 2008 @ 4:46 pm
Here in the midwest many of our WMA’s don’t have trash cans in the lot. Some folks are kind enough to put a can there and take it upon themselves to empty it. Many thanks to them!!!!! I’ve noticed quite a bit of trash brought in by our flooding last spring. We didn’t put it there but it is up to us to clean it up.