On September 17th, the Kansas Chapter of BHA helped the Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) to clean up a marijuana growth operation at Perry Lake in Eastern Kansas. In 2014 the FBI along with a host of other agencies, busted the illegal operation and confiscated 9,800 plants that were hidden deep in the woods on USACE property.
The remaining equipment used to cultivate the plants was to remain in place under FBI surveillance for five years to determine if anyone else was involved in the activities. After the waiting period, USACE was free to clean up the mess.
The original plan was to have two separate events to accomplish this. One day to cut a trail to the grow site, and another day to clean up the mess. Fortunately, USACE was able to cut the majority of the trails prior to the first day, allowing the 12 BHA volunteers to focus on cleaning up the mess. Growth of natural vegetation over the equipment and trash made collection of the materials quite difficult.
Below is a summary of the trash collected at the site:
3 Bundles of 2" diameter flex pipe. Bundles were about 18" wide by 8 foot long
3 Piles of 1/2" soaker hoses. These piles were probably 3 feet tall by 6 foot diameter
2 Piles of green water piping - probably 300 feet in total of pipe
10 Bags of trash
1 Canvas wall tent full of trash
1 New trail cut to shorten the distance to carry the trash out
Due to the amount of work completed by the volunteers, USACE and BHA agreed that no second event would be necessary. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t more work to be done. To get involved in your local clean ups, visit https://www.backcountryhunters.org/events for all upcoming events in your area!
All volunteers were reported to have felt a good dopamine high upon completion of a job well done.
About Kansas BHA
Kansas BHA members value the freedom to hunt, fish, watch birds, trap, hike, camp, and engage in other outdoor pursuits. Our mission is to protect and preserve the few public lands and waters we have within our borders and open access to new public lands.