A continued tradition of winter cleanups:
After cleaning up a major dumpsite along Tucker Creek in 2022, and another dumpsite at a former transfer station off of Macedonia Church Road in 2023, our 2024 cleanup focused on two severe dumping sites in the southwest region of Pisgah near the Quebec and Balsam Grove communities.
On a chilly February morning, with the support of community volunteers, Headwaters Outfitters, and the U.S. Forest Service, we divided into two groups to clean up:
- A dumpsite located off of Silversteen Road above the beautiful West Fork of the French Broad
- Another dumpsite near Tanasee Gap off of Highway 215
A collaborative effort to restore a quiet corner of Pisgah:
At the first dumpsite above the West Fork of the French Broad, volunteers and partner crews worked on low, steep slopes to fill demolition bags with trash. Once filled, the bags were winched up the hill and into the dumpster.
Items that had been dumped here and were removed during this cleanup included:
- Furniture
- Refrigerators
- Televisions
- Construction waste
- Tires
- Box springs
- Household trash
As a result of this collaborative effort, 4,780 pounds of trash was removed from this site. Removal of this trash will also help to improve water quality and reduce contamination.
The Transylvania County Solid Waste Department contributed to the effort as well, again waiving dumping fees so that we could get this trash out of the forest.
