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Date: 7/22/2020
HILLTOWNS – During the dog days of summer, many people, out-of-towners and residents alike, seek out spots along the Westfield River, ponds and lakes in the hilltowns to beat the heat and enjoy the scenic beauty.
This is also the time every year when people who live here start to complain about the garbage that builds up in these beautiful areas, many of which are unsupervised, and where all visitors must plan on carrying out their trash.
On July 10, Huntington resident Pete Campbell started a Facebook group called “Hilltown’s for the preservation of our Rivers, Streams & Lakes” to express his frustration with the garbage being left behind. Within a week, he had more than 600 members join in the conversation.
Campbell said he grew up in the country, where his father had a horse farm. As a young kid, he spent weekends in Worthington, fishing Kinnebrook. “It was beautiful back then. It’s just becoming a cesspool. People are coming in and going out, and don’t take care of the land.”
An avid hunter and fisherman, Campbell said he’s taught his son to leave a place as they found it. “They come out from wherever, look at it, it’s beautiful - the Berkshires, the Hilltowns. Let’s keep it beautiful. They come out here and grill, leave dirty diapers, poop next to a tree and don’t clean up after themselves, leave garbage, broken glass. It’s a problem,” Campbell added.
Campbell listed some of the scenic areas where trash is piling up, including Turtle Bend and Devil’s Hole in Russell, the Russell Dam, Glendale Falls, Cooks lookout, Jacob’s Ladder parking area on Route 20, and the river near the Rapids in Huntington. He said the hilltowns don’t have the appropriate funds to police the areas, where people have open fires and party at night. He said many of the hilltowners that joined the page would rather see them closed.
“I think what it’s all about is getting people to respect the river and the land that surrounds it. If you’re going to come out here to enjoy it, pick up after yourselves. If you want to fish and go to Norwich Lake (in Huntington), clean up your mess. Don’t leave a mess. Don’t expect somebody else to be your janitor,” Campbell said.
“I started this group, I didn’t think it was going to go as crazy as it has. In not even a week, 500 plus. This has been tried before, but I’m going to persevere. It has to stop,” he said. adding, that the Huntington Police Department does a fantastic job, and the state police, the best they can. “Clean up after yourselves,” Campbell said.
Two areas that Campbell also mentioned in Huntington are the parking area across from the Huntington Health Center on Route 20 and Gardner State Park on Route 112.
The area across from the Huntington Health Center has become a problem area. This area is intended for picnicking, there are picnic tables; and for fishing and just stopping to enjoy the river, which is easily accessed from that spot. Signs indicate a limit of one hour for visitors, but many people stay longer. There are no trash receptacles, and no bathrooms, and grilling is not allowed, however, all of these things do go on, and the trash has been piling up.
Visiting Gardner State Park on July 17 and speaking with the park rangers there, however, the rangers did not see the trash as a big problem. “We clean up every morning and at close,” said one, who preferred not to give his name. “We offer to give out trash bags twice a day, and people bring their own,” he added.
Gardner, which is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week during the summer, is free this year due to COVID-19, but parking is limited. They have grills and porta potties, and trails along the river. “This is a good choice,” the ranger said.
He said the biggest problem they have is when people don’t leave at 5 p.m. “Occasionally, somebody gets locked in,” he said. The state police are then notified and they take it from there. The ranger also said he thinks the answer to some of the problems along the scenic areas is enforcement.
Russell resident Derrick Mason was one of the people who lobbied hard to reopen Gardner State Park, which had been closed by the state due to lack of funding, for the benefit of residents and visitors alike. He said a couple of years ago he formed a group called the Hilltown Outdoor Stewardship Alliances, intended for all the groups interested in the outdoors in one way or the other to get together and pool their resources to lobby more effectively.
“Why don’t we do something a little bit bigger than just a Facebook group where people can complain, and really make a difference along those lines,” Mason said, adding, “I was hoping that under these circumstances, there might be something worthwhile in reactivating this, and talking to other local leaders.”
Mason said a lot of the problems this year are related to COVID-19, and the fact that people just want to get out of their houses in the natural world. “They don’t know how to do it properly and cleanly. Cops are just trying to keep a lid on it. We need a managed approach, and capitalize on it intelligently,” he said. One suggestion Mason had was for local groups to adopt scenic areas to help manage them.
John Bergeron of Huntington said he goes to the Cook’s scenic area near his home almost every day. He said recently he brought trash bags with him, and filled two big bags.
“Some people have open fires on the rock, and get drunk and stoned. They’re not going to clean up themselves,” Bergeron said.
A group including Mason, Bergeron, Campbell met on July 18 at the scenic area across from the health center on Route 20 to pick up some of the garbage we had seen piling up. However, Marisa Mendez and Nancy Gonzalez, who had come from Springfield with their families to enjoy some time by the river, had already cleaned up the whole area, netting five bags of garbage. They said they always clean up any garbage that’s there when they arrive, and again when they leave.
“We always have bags. We always take our trash and everyone’s else’s,” Gonzalez said. She said they also had taken apart illegal campfires, and fishing line out of the trees to put in tubular disposals placed by the river for that purpose. They also swept the path of geese droppings, where they had made a mess. They do this wherever they go, she said, including at the park near her home in Springfield. Mendez said they also bring emergency kits with them in case anyone needs a bandage or anything else.
Gonzalez said she loves nature, but hates what people do to it. “Animals don’t bring garbage to us, why bring it to them?” she said.