The blow article is written by Alex Lane and was published on October 29, 2008. I wanted to share it on this blog, because this is an excellent example of Community effort!
[Forwarded by the Foothill Conservancy]
Six truckloads of trash were removed from three locations along the Mokelumne River during the 2008 Mokelumne River Cleanup last weekend. Cosponsored by the Foothill Conservancy, New York Fitness and the East Bay Municipal Services District, the event was coordinated as part of the ongoing efforts to maintain the natural beauty of the Mokelumne river. “It was a gorgeous fall day by the river, and people worked very hard,” said Cleanup Coordinator Karen Friis, a retired teacher and Conservancy member. She added: “We’d like to thank everyone who came and donated all or part of their Saturday to clean up the Mokelumne and help our community.”
The six truckloads of trash removed this year included beer and soda cans, bottles, broken glass, paper, fast-food trash, tires, car parts and batteries, large furniture items, household garbage, disposable diapers, fencing, pallets, CDs, computer accessories, clothing, and countless cigarette butts. “It’s a shame we have to do the cleanup at all. Maybe one day everyone will understand that leaving their picnic trash or dumping garbage along the river hurts fish, wildlife, water quality and other people,” said Foothill Conservancy Vice President Pete Bell. Many of the other event volunteers were folks with close ties to the river. They included kayakers, recreation enthusiasts; members of the Foothill Conservancy, Mokelumne Trailbusters, and Mother Lode Rockcrawlers; and teams from Rites of Passage in Calaveras County. They worked near Middle Bar Road, along Electra Road, and at the North Fork, Middle Fork and South Fork Mokelumne crossings of State Highway 26. Bell added that there were places they still didn’t get to Saturday, saying: “ “We just ran out of time. We hope we can get back there with a crew before long.”
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