Thursday, February 14, 2013

Salt River Cleanup on Saturday Feb. 16th



Have you ever spent the day at the lower Salt River taking what you thought were magnificent photos of snowy egrets hiding among the trees, only to get home and download them and discover the "egrets" were white plastic grocery bags flapping in the breeze?  Or had the perfect shot of the wild horses posing majestically along the river's edge, then realize the shot is ruined by soda cans and trash accumulated at the shoreline?

Well now is your chance to get out to your favorite spot along the Salt River and clean it up! 

The Mesa Ranger District Office is holding a cleanup this Saturday from 8am to 12pm.  Registration is from 8 to 9 am at Blue Point Recreation area (see directions below).  Participants will sign-in and receive directions to trash pick-up locations.  The trash pick-up begins immediately after sign-in and will continue until about noon when lunch will be provided at no cost to volunteers

Tonto Daily Passes are not required for participation in this event. The Tonto National Forest will provide trash bags. The majority of the clean-up will occur in the river bed near water so participants must wear closed-toe, rubber-soled shoes that can be worn in rocky terrain. We urge you to wear sunscreen, hats, gloves, and bring trash pickers if available. Participants are also urged to bring plenty of water as bottled water may not be provided. Thank you for helping keep our waterways clean!

Directions to Volunteer Sign-In Location: The Blue Point Recreation Site is located 20 miles northeast of Mesa. From Mesa, travel east on the Superstition Freeway (US 60) to Power Road/Bush Highway and turn north. Follow Power Road which will turn into Bush Highway for 15 miles to the Blue Point Recreation site. The entire route is paved.

Amy Racki, Volunteer Coordinator
 aracki@fs.fed.us


Its also a perfect time to gather up discarded fishing line before the birds start using the dangerous mono filament in their nests this spring.  Remember the "Roadrunner Rescue" at Desert Botanical Garden last spring? Momma roadrunner was hanging upside down hopelessly entangled in fishing line from her nest and would have died had she not been discovered by photographers and carefully cut free.


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