If you’ve got any large rocks or even boulders, the Spruce City Wildlife Association (SCWA) is interested in taking them off your hands — for a good cause.
The bigger, the better.
About three years ago, the SCWA extracted three pickup trucks that had been illegally dumped into Buckhorn Lake, located southeast of Prince George in the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George.
Steve Hamilton, the association’s past president, said the issue first came to his attention when someone reported fishing in the lake 50 to 100 feet from shore and their boat became high-centred.
With the help of natural resource officers, auto wreckers and a team of divers led by Matt Trudel, the group went to the lake expecting to remove one vehicle and ended up pulling out several.
That effort was part of the backcountry cleanups program that Hamilton created. He said that over the past 10 years, they’ve removed an estimated 150,000 pounds of garbage with help from the regional district, Wood Wheaton, G.A.P. Manufacturing and community volunteers.
Years later, Hamilton said there may still be one or more vehicles submerged in the lake. It’s unclear if any more have been dumped since the last cleanup.
Now, in partnership with the Buckhorn Recreation Association and the provincial government, the SCWA is planning to line parts of the beach with large rocks to deter would-be dumpers.
“We’re trying to stop the vehicles ending up in there illegally,” Hamilton said. “We still want to allow access for people to take their car-topper boats and canoes, stuff like that. But when you’ve got an environmental hazard—vehicles that have been in there 20 years—you’re leaching out toxins, fluids, fuel. You name it.”
That 20-year estimate comes from searching the vehicle identification number of one of the trucks, he said.
Rocks were chosen over fencing or bollards to maintain the natural aesthetic of the lake. To prevent the barriers from being easily moved, the association is looking for stones weighing hundreds to over a thousand pounds.
“If a donor has the equipment to meet someone at the lake with a rock, that’s even better,” Hamilton said.
So far, the association has not received any large rocks, although two 1,200-kilogram concrete barriers have been donated.
Hamilton said he hopes to complete the project this summer, before the forest service road that accesses the lake freezes.
Those interested in donating a rock can send a photo to the association’s Facebook page at facebook.com/SpruceCityWildlifeAssociation.
Hamilton noted that previous revitalization efforts in the region have seen positive results.
At the Lower Chilako River (Mud River) recreation site southwest of Prince George, the association transformed what was essentially a mud pit by adding slope stabilization, pathways, fencing and a parking lot.
At the Nelson Lake Recreation Site farther south, the group installed a 200-foot wooden pathway, cleared space and added a fishing dock, with support from Yellowhead Road & Bridge (YRB).
“There’s a shared value that returns to the landscape, and people realize that if volunteers and donors are putting their hard-earned time and money into it, there seems to be quite the level of respect given,” Hamilton said.
In addition to its cleanup and revitalization efforts, the association is also looking for volunteers to help with other projects, including its salmon hatchery.
The next initiative, Hamilton said, is a brood capture for the hatchery.
