Volunteers needed for annual cleanup of Idaho’s Sawtooth National Recreation Area

The Sawtooth National Recreation Area is home to more than 300 high-elevation mountain lakes, including this unnamed lake at the base of Thompson Peak. (Clark Corbin/Idaho Capital Sun)

Idaho environmental organizations are calling for volunteers to help conduct an upcoming annual cleanup at the Sawtooth National Recreation Area .

The U.S. Forest Service is teaming up with environmental groups including the Idaho Conservation League, Sawtooth Society, Idaho Trails Association, Sawtooth Interpretive and Historical Association, the Environmental Resource Center, Idaho Rivers United, and Wood River Trails Coalition to perform the cleanup.

The event will take place between Sept. 13 and Sept. 30. Volunteers can sign up to clean zones in the front or backcountry within the Sawtooths. This event is self-guided, and it allows volunteers to decide when and where they’d like to contribute. Suggested cleanup zones are provided, but volunteers are welcome to suggest and attend to a zone that is not listed.

The cleanup is in its fifth year, which has led to the removal of 234 industrial-sized bags of garbage from the Sawtooth area. Volunteers also break up illegal fire rings, take unofficial structures apart, pull weeds and clean human waste issues, according to a press release from the Idaho Conservation League.

Susan James, recreation program manager for the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, said the cleanup started as a plea for help during the pandemic.

“A few partners jumped in and organized a cleanup,” she said in the press release. “The group has since rallied a community of local partners and volunteers, turning the cleanup into an annual event. I am so grateful to all the partnerships and volunteers who make this event happen. This is a fun, hands-on opportunity to help protect the core values of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area.”

Dates and locations are subject to change depending on current wildfire activity. For more information or to sign up for the cleanup, visit this page from the Idaho Conservation League.

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