I follow a bunch of trail/nature type pages on Facebook, and one of them is the Maine Forest Rangers. About a week or so ago, I saw a photo circulating on Facebook, as well as the Forest Ranger page, of a scene on a trail here in Maine, where someone had been dumping an obscene amount of garbage on an ATV trail in Fryeberg. They posted a photo and indicated they were investigating the situation.

Well, yesterday they put up this post on their Facebook page:

At this time, a New Hampshire man has been ordered to appear in court over the mess. In Maine, for a crime such as this, you could face a $500 fine, financial compensation to the landowner for any damage to the property, minimum of 100 hours community service, you could be forced to also clean up the mess yourself at your own expense, or you could lose your driver's license. You could even lose your business licenses or certifications if you dumped trash from your job/business, according to Maine's Title 17, Chapter 80 concerning littering.

 The post doesn't mention who did the cleanup, but I know from other things I've read, good-natured folks often volunteer to go in and help out with this sort of thing. All the trails throughout Maine are extremely popular, so folks who often utilize them, are usually pretty anxious to help right any wrongdoing that happens on the trails. Whoever participated in this cleanup is truly awesome!

The woods and trails are for everybody. So let's all do our part to keep them clean. If you ever see any illegal dumping, report it to your local authorities, or the Maine Forest Rangers immediately. the number listed on their Facebook page is 207-827-1800, should you see any questionable activity.

 

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