Over 10,000 tires removed from Tug River in 5 years as two states join hands

Hundreds of tires were cleaned from a stretch of the Tug Fork River at Burnwell last week. The group and volunteers have dredged out over 10,000 tires in the last five years. (Photo/John Burchett)

BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

BURNWELL — The Friends of Tug Fork River and volunteers continued their mission to rid the waterway of all old tires last week.

The group met at Burnwell in Pike County, Kentucky, which borders Mingo County, West Virginia.

“It’s important to our area,” said Friends of the Tug Fork River vice president John Burchett. “It’s important to the future of this area.”

“And we’re lucky that we have two states that are helping,” said Burchett. “If we were at inland- in one inland river, in one state- we would only have one state to work with.”

He and Keith Gibson, a volunteer who owns the Hatfield McCoy Airboat Tours at Matewan, said they know how much the waterways mean to the development of adventure tourism in the region.

With the equipment and expertise of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan and the partnerships working across state lines, those involved say they are lucky to have the workers on the water.

“We’re talking about 100 years worth of litter,” said Gibson. “We pulled tires out of here that come off old T-model Fords.”

“Ten thousand (10,000 and counting) tires is a huge accomplishment for Friends of the Tug Fork River. We want to thank everyone that has helped over the past five years. We couldn’t have done it without them,” Burchett stressed.

“We need more volunteers in the water. It is very tough but satisfying work. Seeing the difference in a section of river after we have removed the tires definitely makes a hard day feel worth it. Come out and help us help our river,” he added.

Friends of the Tug Fork River continued the mission to rid the river of old tires. (Photo/John Burchett)

Burchett said Pike County and Mingo County, as well as the two state governments, have worked well together to keep the project rolling.

According to Gibson, the tires in the water is a topic usually included in the feedback he gets from tourists who hit the water with his company but is always second to the friendliness of the people.

The group has now held cleanups to remove the old rubber tires from the river for the last five years, dredging thousands of old tires out of the water.

The group will continue its efforts. However, they hope this illegal tire disposal will stop in future years. A free tire disposal is held in September at the Williamson Water Plant at Third Avenue and Vinson Street from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the summer months.

(WYMT-TV contributed to this article.)

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