Being the unofficial kick-off to summer, many Okanagan residents likely spent time exploring the region’s beautiful front and backcountry over the long weekend.
While the sheer beauty of the Valley’s views is hard to deny, a quick glance at the forest’s floor shows a growing problem.
According to Andrew Drouin, the author of multiple local trail maps, plastic casings from shotgun shells are piling up at dozens of backcountry recreation areas.
“Most of the nice lookout sites and even the not so nice ones have been turned into destruction zones,” said Drouin.
“People appear to be skeet shooting, or aiming at things like TV’s, and just leaving the area without picking up their shells or beer cans.”
To help combat the increased littering, Drouin has started a petition proposing a buyback program for shell cases that’s similar to BC’s recycling program.
“There are guys who shoot hundreds of shells in a weekend and they could get $20 to $30 bucks back,” explained Drouin.
“People have also contacted me saying it would be great to get volunteer groups out there to pick them up as part of fundraising efforts, similar to a bottle drive.”
As of Tuesday evening, the petition had gathered over 400 signatures, with support from backcountry clubs like the Four Wheel Drive Association of BC.
"BC's recycling program is 89.9% efficient so if we could even get a portion of that we would clean a lot of the shells littering our forests," added Drouin.
If you would like to learn more about the petition, click here.
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