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My wife and I walk our three dogs in the desert area behind the churches, west of the village, twice daily; three and a half miles in the morning and one and a half miles in the late afternoons. We have been frequently appalled by the disregard many folks have shown for the desert’s beauty by dumping garbage of all sorts in plain sight of the dirt roads that cross the area.
Tuesday, as we were walking our usual route, we encountered where someone had dumped a large load of tree cuttings, 6’ high, that completely blocked the road for any motorized traffic and made it very difficult to bypass, even on foot. The area is just below the wide part of that perimeter road where the kids have their bonfire and beer drinking sessions on Friday nights.
They leave a total mess of beer cans and bottles, as well as plastic cups strewn all over the area. The fire is often still smoldering when we get there on Saturday mornings, presenting a real fire hazard to the tinder-dry grasses in the area.
If the tree cuttings had been left in that bonfire area less than 100 feet away, I’m sure it would have been easy to get by and would also supply the kids with bonfire fodder. That road needs to be left accessible for traffic. Just recently, I had to show a Fish and Game agent where one of my dogs had stepped into an illegally set trap, often called a “bear trap:, meant for coyotes. That was the second time this occurred and I was getting sick of the veterinarian costs those traps had cost me, not to mention the pain and suffering endured by my dogs. I was really impressed with the professionalism and knowledge that this agent portrayed, not to mention his use of GPS locators.
I’m writing this in hopes that the citizens of San Manuel will become more careful of what and where they dump their garbage, knowing that it is illegal to dump anything, even biodegradable cuttings in the desert, not to mention the ugliness it creates. Also, to encourage the trapper in our midst to set his traps (if he must set them at all) somewhere that is not only legal, but, also where my dogs are not going to encounter them.
Sincerely,
/s/ William Schink
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