MAYFLOWER, Ark. — The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) encourages people who want a cleaner Lake Conway to participate in the final organized public cleanup of the lake's shortline.
AGFC said staging locations and dumpsters will be available June 13-15 at the following access points:
According to AGFC, staff and volunteers have removed 36 tons of litter and roughly 20 tons of tires from the lakebed. AGFC Fisheries Supervisor Nick Feltz said trash has come from only seven miles of the lake's shoreline.
“We’ve tried to focus our efforts on areas that were accessible and where the litter was most noticeable, and we’ve removed a lot of it, but there’s still a lot to go,” Feltz said. “Unfortunately, the heat of summer and the amount of vegetation growing now will make this our last organized cleanup attempt until cold weather sets in and we see some dieback from that vegetation.”
We reported last month that overgrown vegetation had hindered trash removal in the previous two cleanups. Feltz said there hasn't been a "ton of participation from the public."
“In May, we really saw where areas that were overgrown were very time-consuming to pick through and get to the debris,” Feltz said. “We’d really like to see more people take a day to help clean up what we can.”
AGFC said the City of Conway donated dumpsters to help with the May and June cleanups. Still, the commission wanted to remind people that the dumpsters are only for debris collection and not for household garbage or construction waste. Feltz said AGFC still has to pay the dumping fees for all the trash and tires collected.
“We had some misuse of the dumpsters during the April cleanup with some furniture and construction waste showing up," Feltz said. "The May cleanup was much better in that respect."
Participants are highly encouraged to wear rubber boots and insect repellent while on the lakebed and heavy leather gloves will help prevent any cuts when handling broken glass or metal.
As an added incentive to reward volunteers who participate in the cleanup, the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation donated two $100 gift cards to Academy Sports and Outdoors, which will be given away in a drawing. Any participant who registers online and checks in with an AGFC group cleanup is eligible to win.
Additionally, the Conway Chamber of Commerce is giving away $50 gift cards to be used at some of the city's restaurants for those who post cleanup pictures on social media using the hashtag #NewLakeConway.
Click here if you would like to participate and receive updates on cleanup locations.