(Submitted photo/Camille Staples).

By Aaron Schulze

Monte Lake Waste

‘Nobody is protecting this lake’: Stewards of Monte Lake continue cleanup

Mar 27, 2021 | 12:00 PM

KAMLOOPS — Camille Staples and her family grew up going to Monte Lake at the halfway point between Kamloops and Vernon, although their enthusiasm to spend time there has dwindled over the years.

Whether it’s been pandemic-related or not, she’s noticed more for traffic at Monte Lake within the last year, and that visitors haven’t properly cleaned up after themselves.

“We’ve stopped going down there just because of the amount of human waste, garbage, all sorts of nasty things,” Staples said. “We don’t want to go down there, it’s gross. We thought we should do something to clean it up so we can use it.”

Staples, her sisters, and her friends formed the Stewards of Monte Lake group in Summer 2020 and had its first cleanup of the lake took place the following fall.

On Saturday, March 27, the Stewards are cleaning up Monte Lake once more. This time tidying up following ice fishing season debris.

Question of the Week

Do you think a minority government could be a positive for British Columbia?

Oct 21, 2024

Week in Review

Week in Review: Week of Oct. 14

Oct 20, 2024

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: The mind doesn't always listen

Oct 20, 2024

“It’s year-round,” Staples said regarding Monte Lake’s cleanliness issues. “We’re doing it this spring for the ice fishing season, and in the summertime we did it after the usage… there’s so many people camping. Monte Lake is getting hit by a few different things, being right along the highway with no rest stop. It’s considered the wild west, a free camp site, so people will stay there.

“A lot of people don’t clean up their garbage. There are always the bad ones that leave their garbage. We’ve had people draining their [waste] tank out of their RVs down there. Nobody is protecting this lake.”

Staples said the Stewards met with Ken Gillis, Thompson Nicola Regional District’s director, and he said he’d help get portable outhouses out at Monte Lake.

“Portable outhouses will help but not in the long term,” she said. “We did reach out to the Ministry of Transportation… Forests… Parks… Fisheries… someone should help us protect this lake. We’d like to do more.”

Community support for the Stewards of Monte Lake has grown since the group started last summer. Staples said the ice fishing cleanup will begin at the north end of the lake at noon on Saturday, and the group will supply garbage bags, hand sanitizer, and a truck to pick up all the waste.

Interested volunteers are recommended to bring water, snacks, a mask, and gloves.