3 years into the "Don't Waste Our Open Space" enforcement program, state officers have made over 130 arrests for illegal dumping.
TRENTON -- Robert Cline drove into Allamuchy Mountain State Park with a cream-colored couch in the back of a red pickup truck and and left the park in Sussex County without it.
Cameras caught it all, and the 53-year-old Paterson man was charged with illegally dumping solid waste after admitting he dumped the couch with Mother Nature, instead of disposing it properly, officials said.
In the past three years, New Jersey State Park Police and state Division of Fish and Wildlife conservation officers have targeted illegal dumping as part of the Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP) "Don't Waste Our Open Space" campaign.
Aided by motion-sensor cameras mounted in some parks, they've made over 130 arrests like Cline's.
And they have found an array of items in dumped in state parks, forests and wildlife management areas: from construction debris and old televisions and computers, to entire vehicles and hazardous chemicals.
The DEP also highlighted the following arrests Friday as part of the campaign's three year anniversary:
* Gilmer Castillo, 28, of Hamilton in Mercer County, is charged with illegal dumping of hazardous chemicals after officers found four barrels containing tetrachloroethylene (TCE), a chemical used in dry cleaning, on the Delaware & Raritan Canal tow path on Duck Island in Hamilton. His case is pending.
* Timothy Liesch, 29, of Readington Township, pleaded guilty to dumping debris from a remodeling project at the South Branch Wildlife Management Area in Hunterdon County in July 2016. He paid a $1,500 fine and $1,064 in restitution.
* Anthony Bumbolo, 28, of Hardyston paid $2,000 in fines after pleading guilty to dumping several bags of household trash on Sparta Mountain and Hamburg Mountain, both in Sussex County, in April 2016.
* Joseph Lewis, 43, of Monroe Township, Gloucester County, was charged with dumping refuse on a wildlife management area and related charges after conservation officers found a trash pile in the Winslow Wildlife Management Area that had originated at a federal park site in Philadelphia. His case is pending.
* Thomas M. Smith, 20, of Stillwater, pleaded guilty to dumping a boat and trailer on the Paulinskill River Wildlife Management Area in Sussex County, in August 2016. He paid a $1,500 fine and $500 restitution.
* Alex Dzyak, 23, of Knowlton, paid a $1,500 fine and removed trash, car parts and other debris after pleading guilty to dumping the items at the Columbia Lake Wildlife Management Area in Warren County in July 2016.
* Reginald Casterlin, 47, of Hardyston, pleaded guilty to illegal dumping for disposing household trash on Goodale Road in Andover, in Sussex County. He was ordered to pay $3,099 in fines and court fees.
* Gregory Ensel, 34, of Newton, pleaded guilty to transporting and disposing solid waste after illegally dumping household debris near Old Stuyvesant Road within Allamuchy Mountain State Park. Ensel was ordered to pay $700 in fines and serve 90 days of community service.
* Emmanuel Rodriguez, 22, of Clementon, was fined $1,000 plus court courts after admitting he dumped a 4-foot high 12-feet wide pile of debris in the Wharton State Forest in January 2016.
* Michael Gallagher, 20, of Mount Olive, pleaded guilty to a downgraded offense and paid $133 in fines and court fees after he was initially charged with illegally dumping a motor vehicle on Waterloo Valley Road in Mount Olive. Gallagher removed the vehicle.
* Joseph Lane, 28, of Pemberton, was charged with illegally dumping a pop-up camper off Mount Misery Road in Brendan Byrne State Forest in May 2016. State park police traced the camper to its previous owner in Brick, who told detectives he sold the camper to Lane. Lane admitted owning the camper. The case is pending.
* Randall Hutchinson, Jr., 29, of Mine Hill, was ordered by a superior court judge to pay $1,098 in fees, work 300 hours of community service and serve three years of probation for extensive illegal dumping in October 2015 at Stokes State Forest in Sussex County.
* Garrett Bullock, 54, of Browns Mills, is charged with illegal dumping and illegal transportation of solid waste after authorities found a boat abandoned in the Whites Boggs area of Brendan Byrne State Forest. The case is pending.
DEP Commissioner Bob Martin said the enforcement will continue, and protecting the state's "pristine lands and recreational properties" remains a Christie Administration priority.
"We will continue to commit resources to this program, prosecute violators to the fullest extent of the law, and educate the public about the consequences of illegal dumping," Martin said in a statement.
"Maintaining our open spaces and protecting and preserving the unique ecology of our state is one of the highest priorities for our division," Fish & Wildlife's Bureau of Law Enforcement Chief Matt Brown said.
Information on reporting illegal dumping can be found at www.stopdumping.nj.gov.
Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook.