Okanagan Forest Task Force says wildlife returning to cleaned-up illegal dumping sites

Four years ago, the Okanagan Forest Task Force came to life, with a goal of cleaning up illegal dumping sites throughout the region.

Along with putting illegal dumping in the spotlight, the benefit of removing garbage from local forests is the return of wildlife in those areas, according to the task force.

On Wednesday, a moose was spotted where 37,000 pounds of material had been recently removed close to a small pond on Postill Lake Road

“This is the location where multiple vehicles were torched and dumped almost one month ago,” said Kane Blake, the task force’s president.

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“It is so amazing to see wildlife back in that area and it’s so clean for them.”

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“Without all the amazing volunteers, this wouldn’t have even been possible.”

To date, the group says it has removed more than 230,000 pounds of illegally dumped garbage and metal in the backcountry.

The force is planning another cleanup in a different area and it says to keep an eye on its Facebook page if you would like to help.

2:23 June’s significant rainfall in the Okanagan has increased the water levels of Okanagan Lake but decreased the risk of forest fires