EMPIRE -- John Heiam and his wife Lois Goldstein will paddle down the Platte River this weekend to collect garbage left behind by others.
"We find two main items: plastic bottles for pop and water, as well as beer cans, both full and empty," Heiam said. "What's happened is people have dumped and didn't have the skills to collect what floated downstream."
The Williamsburg couple will be joined by other volunteers during the annual National Public Lands Day, when fees are waived at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and other federal lands.
Entrance fees will not be collected Saturday or Sunday at the Dune Climb, Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, Glen Haven, Port Oneida, Platte Point, the Manitou Islands and all the trails and beaches managed by the National Park Service.
At the same time, park officials call for volunteers to help with the annual beach cleanup. Cigarette butts, food wrappers and other trash will be targeted by volunteers, who will receive a coupon for an additional free entrance to the park at a later date, officials said.
"It's an opportunity for people who care about their public lands that they own to come out and help care for them, so their visits and the visits of friends and neighbors are enjoyable," said Tom Ulrich, deputy superintendent at the park.
The effort typically involves the collection of "bags and bags" of garbage and is meant to maintain the "pristine beaches of Sleeping Bear," Ulrich said.
Beach cleanup volunteers should meet with park rangers at noon Saturday at the visitor's center in Empire. Park officials hope for about 20 volunteers who are able to spend a few hours combing the beaches along Lake Michigan.
Beaches in Leelanau County's Good Harbor Bay likely will be targeted during this weekend's cleanup activity, along with other sites still being scouted, Ulrich said.
The effort coincides with the Ocean Conservancy's annual International Coastal Cleanup, when volunteers around the world take to the shorelines to pick up any washed ashore garbage as well as rubbish left behind by beach-goers.
Fees also will be waived Saturday and Sunday for day-use recreation in the Huron-Manistee National Forest.
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