POLSON — Illegal dumping is becoming a growing problem across the 1.3 million acres of the Flathead Reservation.
Tribal land managers say what's left behind on CSKT Tribal lands is becoming a bigger problem as the illegal dumping includes abandoned cars, old freezers, and household trash.
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MaryRose Morigeau with CSKT Solid Waste Management said there are many factors behind the illegal dumping.
"Some of it is people don't want to go to the dump, don't want to pay the fee, but someone's got to pay for it," Morigeau said. "1.3 million acres is what the reservation encompasses, and for one full-time person and one part-time person, that is a lot of land to cover."
An Environmental Protection Agency Solid Waste grant awarded to the CSKT has helped hire more employees, but Morigeau fears when funding runs out in 2027, so will the help.
She says the dumping creates havoc on the entire ecosystem, as many items are dumped near watersheds and open waters.
"Even stuff thrown into the water, birds eat the fish, the fish are contaminated, it's a whole cycle," Morigeau said.
Local residents Cody Brown and Jeff Heninger, who recreate almost daily, say the problem is getting out of hand.
"Over the past three years it seems to be increasing — more garbage on the roadways and tucked away in the little meadows here," Brown said.
Brown said he has seen dressers and abandoned cars left behind.
"We want everyone to love it and say the Mission Valley is awesome, but you're not going to get that when people are just tossing their stuff out the windows," Heninger said.
In the meantime, Heninger and Brown have started pitching in to help by bringing trailers, trash bags and other bikers to pick up trash.
"Me and a couple of the other bikers will come in here with plastic bags and pick up beer cans, soda pop cans, various things left behind," Brown said.
"It would be nice if everyone took the same responsibility and loved the area that we lived in and wanted to take care of it," Heninger said.
"It takes a community to keep the area clean," Morigeau said.
If you see an area that needs to be cleaned up, you are asked to call CSKT Solid Waste.
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