The Friends of the Tug Fork River organization is the driving force behind the recent tire cleanup of the Tug River between Warfield and Kermit. The group received help from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection and REAP (Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan) to remove hundreds of tires from the waterway in the last couple of years.
Kermit and Warfield fire departments, the City of Warfield, Martin County Code Enforcement Officer Paul McCoy, community service workers, and the Human Resources Development Foundation (W.Va.) also assisted in the cleanup.
The group did another cleanup last week in the Williamson and South Williamson area.
According to John Burchett of Williamson, a member of Friends of the Tug Fork River and a commissioner on the West Virginia Flatwater Trail Commission, officials usually pick the summer months when the water depth is down and the temperatures are hotter.
Burchett said the DEP and REAP always “brings all the toys and works out logistics that make it all possible” for these tire cleanups. This includes the Hydratrek amphibious vehicle that can go into shallow water to help workers remove the old tires. Volunteers bring small boats to load the tires and take them to the riverbanks to remove them from the water.
Burchett said some tires have been in the river for years. These tires have been in there for so long that some are buried in the muddy and murky bottom of the river.
There is no excuse for this.
Businesses like tire shops and junk yards typically pay a per-tire fee to have tires removed from their locations. In recent years, unlicensed haulers are undercutting the per-tire disposal fee businesses pay to licensed haulers. Then these unlicensed haulers dump tires in the river, on private property or inside vacant homes to save a buck.
The dumping of these tires needs to stop. And anyone who sees this type of illegal dumping should report it to their local law enforcement.
The recent “Tire Tug of War” event in the Warfield-Kermit area allowed people in Martin County and Kermit to take action and rally around a safe, healthy environment.
Praise goes to the volunteers who waded the river to help remove the old rubber tires, including members of the fire departments.
Multiple studies have shown that cleanups are essential for supporting tourism and local economies, protecting wildlife, and raising public awareness of the threat of litter to wildlife and communities.
The Tug River has once again become a fisherman’s paradise and a good place for kayakers to enjoy the water. Hundreds of tourists are now coming into the area, especially in Mingo County, to ride on the Hatfield-McCoy ATV Trails. While they are here, many may be looking for something else to do, like fishing or kayaking on the Tug River.
Prolific litter is another major problem in the region. We have beautiful countryside and rural roads, but to see litter, trash and illegal dumps in our communities and neighborhoods has put a black eye on the area.
It is an ongoing battle in a war to defeat this problem, and it seems that not as many of the younger generation volunteer for civic organizations and other nonprofit events like these cleanups. However, we can win the war with the teamwork of organizations and local government officials and education in our school systems.
We need this group to continue these types of cleanups in the future.
Let’s praise those who have assisted in these tire cleanups and any other litter cleanup in the area.