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Illegal dumping frustrates Ness Lake resident

When Martin Conrad looks at his licence plate and sees "Beautiful B.C.," he shakes his head with disgust and disappointment. "There's so much garbage being dumped, it's ridiculous. And it's not getting any better," he said.
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Martin Conrad looks at a pile of debris and garbage that has been dumped near Austgarden Road.

When Martin Conrad looks at his licence plate and sees "Beautiful B.C.," he shakes his head with disgust and disappointment.

"There's so much garbage being dumped, it's ridiculous. And it's not getting any better," he said.

In the Ness Lake area, garbage is being dumped along roadways and trails, frustrating area residents like Conrad. The problem, he said, is only getting worse.

"This is where people hike, snowmobile, ride horses and ATV," he said. "It just doesn't stop. There's so much garbage, wood and metal lying about. It's terrible when people are just trying to enjoy the scenery."

Between Austgarden Road to Isle Pierre Road, an old dock from the lake was dumped as well as a huge galvanized tank full of garbage.

"Poplar trees were cut down in the area as well and the wood just thrown into the woods along the road, right there out in the open for all to see," he said. "How can people do this?"

Conrad says the dumping increased after the landfill began charging dumping fees.

"This began three years ago," agreed Rachel Ryder from environmental services at the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George.

"There is always illegal dumping going on. People seem to have an attitude of what they think they should pay and shouldn't pay for when it comes to dumping."

According to Ryder, the illegal dumping on Isle Pierre Road has been reported and the issue is currently being investigated.

"And this is an area where regular cleanups have taken place in the past," she said. "There is a community cleanup in the spring and fees are waived."

The Spruce City Wildlife Association has also done cleanups in the past and are always looking for more opportunities to do so, according to Ryder.

But for Conrad, this just isn't enough.

"These roads would take weeks to clean up. There's so much of it. And everyone just turns a blind eye to it. Something needs to be put in place," he said.

For Conrad, who's been a resident in the area since 2006, it's certainly become an eye sore, especially because of his love of nature, fishing, hunting and the great outdoors.

"I even asked to have signage put up in the area and was told that I needed to get a committee together," he said.

"The district said they couldn't do anything about it."

According to Ryder, it's a matter of reporting the issue to the proper place.

"The best place to report an incident is to the conservation authorities at Report All Poachers and Polluters (RAPP). Then it's actually recorded," she said.

But for Conrad, it seems a never-ending problem.

"People will clean up but then it just happens again. If nothing continues to happen, this area will not exist in future generations," he said.

"It's easy. Just don't dump."

To report illegal dumping in areas outside the Prince George municipal boundary but are still within the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George, call RAPP at 1-877-952-7277.