STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

The Sawtooth National Recreation Area was hammered this year by a record number of visitors, many of them first-time campers and backpackers who decided visiting the great outdoors would be a safe activity during the COVID pandemic.

It goes without saying it impacted the natural resources.

SNRA and Idaho Conservation League officials are asking locals to help the area recover from the impact of the busy summer season by taking part in a COVID-friendly cleanup.

Groups, families, friends and even co-workers can choose a project in the front-country—places like Pole Creek, Hell Roaring and Decker Flats, the Redfish Overflow or Nip and Tuck. Or, they can choose backcountry places like the Alice Toxaway Loop, Sawtooth Lake and the Big Boulder Lakes to do their work.

Projects can be done through Oct. 4. Crews will be given instructions on where to pick up supplies and what to do by email.

To sign up, go to https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdy8KvijfJHGTurtzno7D2oOVpk46_PdTKJBU4fe6xV9rn-ZQ/viewform

Questions? Contact Hannah Smay at hsmay@idahoconservation.org or 208-345-6933, extension 202. Or, Dalton Warr at dalton@sawtoothsociety.org or 208-899-9244.