Trailside tire cleanup

Bella Vistans got together to pull more than 100 tires out of a ravine near the Tweetybird trail on Thursday, March 4.

Michael Beilfuss, an Arkansas Master Naturalist who helped organize the cleanup, said he lives near the trail in question and noticed the tires while hiking.

“I discovered this pit, basically, full of tires,” he said.

An initial estimate of 100 tires wasn’t far off, with a final count coming in at 108.

This was a good chance to do something for the community, he added, and help to meet volunteering requirements as a master naturalist.

Beilfuss said he was excited to see a solid turnout, with roughly ten people showing up to help clear the tires, and he was especially glad that recent trail construction cleared a path for volunteers, who used a utility vehicle to drive a trailer roughly a quarter mile to and from the tire pile. “I’m thrilled,” he said.

Trey Anson, who also helped organize the cleanup and provided the vehicle and trailer volunteers used to haul tires, said he’s excited to see volunteers out working.

“It’s pretty great,” he said. Because there are so many trails, he said, a great deal of work on them is done by volunteers simply because the city and POA lack the manpower to do everything that needs to be done.

Additionally, he said, with more hands on deck, the job gets done faster.

One volunteer and master naturalist, Keith Elliot, said he was excited to be out working on an important project.

“Glad to be back out and doing something,” he said.

Keith Bryant/The Weekly Vista Mary Anne Wehrle (left) works with Jim Richardson, Lisa Winfield and Joshua James to lift a tractor tire off a small tree during a trailside cleanup organized by Arkansas Master Naturalists last Thursday.

Keith Bryant/The Weekly Vista Michael Beilfuss (left) works with Keith Elliot to roll a large tractor tire out of an old creekbed.