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BOUNTIFUL, Utah (AP) -- Call out the National Guard -- Ward Canyon needs to be cleaned up.
The Forest Service is hoping the Utah Army National Guard can remove illegally dumped vehicles that sit amid other trash dumped in the canyon east of Bountiful over the last 40 years.
The federal agency hopes to enlist the help of Davis County governments, communities and private organizations in removing the smaller pieces of trash, such as mattresses, air conditioning units, snowmobiles, bikes and appliances.
The proposal calls for the Guard's 2-211th Aviation Regiment to airlift the abandoned vehicles from the canyon in October.
"You just don't realize how bad it really is until you see it," Forest Service employee Carol Majeske said. "We do have some special funding for this project, but we still have a need for help from the community."
Members of the Guard's aviation unit hiked into the canyon Monday with Forest Service employees to assess the work involved in the project.
"There has been no commitment on either side yet," said Maj. Hank McIntire, Utah National Guard public information officer. "We're looking at the possibilities and evaluating to see if using our resources is even feasible."
Pilots and crew chiefs were in the canyon gauging the possibility of using Blackhawk helicopters to remove the vehicles.
They found as many as 30 junked vehicles, stripped and rusted, many with vegetation growing through them.
"There's plenty of logistics problems associated with this job," said Maj. Pete Adams, a pilot. "We're worried about the trees. We're worried about the age of some of the vehicles, some look a little too rusty. The last thing we want is for the load giving way once we lift it."
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Information from: Standard-Examiner, http://www.standard.net
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
