“Sad to see.”
That’s how Kane Blake of the Okanagan Forest Task Force describes the damage being done to the local backcountry after yet another illegal encampment was discovered.
Near Lake Country, around 20 kilometres up Beaver Lake Road, a messy encampment was found. The scene included chopped-down trees and the start of some sort of structure.
Members of the Okanagan Forest Task Force say the site was also littered with multiple piles of garbage, open food and car batteries, along with nails and screws scattered over the site.
Another view of the illegal encampment near Lake Country that was recently cleaned up.
“We only have one backcountry and we need to preserve what we have because once it’s gone, it’s gone,” said Blake, the task force’s spokesperson.
He said through time and water runoff, “a lot of this garbage and things like that will end up in our lakes, streams creeks, things like that, people’s drink water. Our big message is to keep B.C. beautiful.”
According to the group’s website, between five and six truckloads were hauled away from the site.
The volunteer group cleaned the site up over a couple of days, and it was reported to the Conservation Officer Service.
Sign up to receive newsletters and breaking news email alerts.