Thanking more than 200 volunteers for their efforts to reduce trash and litter in the Monroe area, LDWF Secretary Rob Shadoin delivered the keynote address at the Ouachita Green Awards Luncheon Thursday, Oct. 5, in the Biedenharn Family Life Center at First Methodist Church.
“People like you are such essential allies for our work,” Shadoin told the crowd. Ouachita Green, an affiliate of Keep Louisiana Beautiful, sponsors numerous events throughout the year to keep the Ouachita Parish community clean and green. Sheila Kay Downhour, Executive Director of Ouachita Green, said their water sweep event in September attracted more than 250 volunteers who covered nine waterways and collected more than 2.21 tons of trash.
“We can’t do everything we need to do to protect our waterways, bayous, swamps, woodlands and other natural resources without you,” Shadoin said. “I want to thank you for the alliance we have.”
Shadoin said litter control is of special interest to him thanks to an early lesson from his father. He recalled a time when he was in elementary school and he and his brother were riding in the back of the car and one of them – “I don’t remember which one of us did it,” he said – rolled down the car window and threw out a piece of trash. Shadoin said his father pulled to the side of the road and ordered the two boys out of the car and made them clean up all of the trash along the roadside for several feet. “Consequently, I have always had an aversion to people who treat our land so rudely,” he said.
LDWF plays a significant role in addressing litter in the state. Shadoin noted Wildlife and Fisheries agents write more litter tickets annually in Louisiana than any other agency. “That’s because we don’t just patrol the concrete and asphalt and roadways. We are out in the woods and on the waterways. There aren’t many of us, but we’re out there,” he said.
One of those agents is Sgt. John Hattaway, a Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Agent, who was recognized with a Law Enforcement Award by Ouachita Green during the luncheon. Sgt. Hattaway has previously been recognized by LDWF for Meritorious Service and is scheduled to be honored by Keep Louisiana Beautiful with an Everyday Hero award later this month.
Shadoin said LDWF agents wrote 677 litter tickets statewide in 2021. That number dropped to 495 in 2022, which he sees as an encouraging sign. Still, there is a tremendous amount of litter on roadways and in waterways.
“DOTD recently collected 25,000 cubic yards of trash,” Shadoin told the crowd. “So how much is 25,000 cubic yards? If you spread that over an entire football field, from the back of the endzone to the back of the other endzone – 120 yards – the pile would cover the field and be 13 feet high. That’s three feet above the crossbar of the goal post. And we know that’s not all of it.”
Noting he was “speaking to the choir,” Shadoin urged residents to do everything they can to reduce litter. From keeping trash bags in cars and boats to preventing trash from flying out of pickup trucks, he said there are many simple things residents can do to reduce litter and make communities more attractive.
“Because of people like you, we are getting more awareness of don’t do this,” Shadoin said. “Thank you for your volunteerism. Please keep it up, because it is making a difference.”
To report litter in your area and get tips on how to reduce litter please visit the LDWF website at https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/report-littering.