Lehigh River (29-June-2015)

Did not pick up a whole lot today. Just a little over a full bag of plastics and a handful of cans. I really could use a canoe for cleaning up around the river. Too many plastics on the shores and caught in strainers. (A strainer is an over hang on the water, generally a tree branch, but could be any object that acts as a catch allowing water to pass through but not other objects) From the shore I can't really do much about the trash caught in strainers. 

This area I have cleaned up multiple times before and will probably clean up many times in the future. It is on the edge of an eddy in which a lot of trash gets trapped and eventually deposited on the shore.

I have found way too many batteries this year. This one was in the river.

I did not see what had Penny's interest until I removed the one beer can. It was a diaper, a wonderful used diaper. I have made it clear in past posts that diapers are one item I will never pick up. Why people think it is acceptable to put trash in anything that slightly resembles a garbage can I will never understand. It seems lots of people used this to get rid of their waste and it is close enough to the rivers edge that at high water all will be washed down stream. I did remove the plastics and aluminum. Shoes, paper products and soiled diaper were left behind. I really do not like leaving things behind, but I do need someplace to go with it before I take it.

Trash is not the main issue in this photo. Relatively recently someone decided that this would be a perfect campsite. They cut down multiple trees and most of the cuttings still had green leaves on them. Very close to this site are other places where there are already clear views to the water and there are already fire pits. But, whoever did this decided it was a better place and never mind the trees. The problem is that trees on river and stream banks serve two important purposes. The root systems help to hold in place the soil on the bank and can act as a filter to water entering the stream or river at that point. Cutting trees on river and stream, banks just isn't cool, especially when there are better options very close by.

This is where good intentions go bad. Just above this area is the parking lot. About a year ago someone put an empty recycling bin next to the larger tree in the upper right corner of this photo. It filled up and was never emptied. Then someone or possibly some animal came along and pushed the bin over the edge. So, if you ever decide that an area needs a trash receptacle, please don't put one their unless you have a plan to maintain it.

This used to be attached to the tree that had the recycling bin in it. The organization on the sticker used to put cards in it for fishermen to report their trout catches. At some point they stopped adding new cards and the box ended up on the ground. Now it will be going to a recycling center.

Some of my posts may seem repetitive. I even think so. Really I am finding the same stuff over and over again. The past couple clean ups I haven't even found any really fun items. I am going to try to get out more and hopefully I will find some good stuff that is a little different. Generally by the river you can find some odd items so I will be doing more shore clean ups in the near future.

Fire Tower Road: Completed (26-June-2015)

I did want to post with the beginning and end photos, so here they are.

Went back today to see what it looked like after the sediment had settled in the water. Picked up a couple final pieces that I wasn't able to see yesterday and overall I think it looks good. 

Unlike Bake Oven Knob I do not think this specific site will have continuing problems in the future. Fire Tower Rd might and there is at least one thing that could be done to prevent dumps like this one there in the future. The road is gated, but there are ATV trails cut through the woods on both sides. If these were addressed adequately I think dumping along this road would be minimized. 

If you ever see suspicious activity at access points for state game lands, state parks or state forest areas, please call the local police immediately and they can get a hold of the proper law enforcement for the area. These places should be kept in the best shape possible, not just for our recreational enjoyment, but for the wildlife that calls them home. 

Fire Tower Road: Day 3 (25-June-2015)

When I started out today I thought it was going to be miserably hot. Instead, I got a nice surprise and the sky clouded over before I arrived at the site. I really wanted to finish this project today and I set out to do just that. 

After removing the first wheel barrow, I believed it would take two days to get done. After the second, I still thought I had a lot left to do. By the third, the pile was really down. The fourth wheel barrow did it and I was beyond pleased.

I did discover what all the insulation was about. I thought that at least some of it was copper wire housings and this piece was the only bit left uncut. If you are unaware, you can sell copper, just like this with the insulation still on it. You do not get as much money for it, but you don't have to go through all of the work of cutting it out and you then don't have anything to dispose of.

Now this puzzled me. The amount of work that went into this whole process of cutting these wires and stripping them out must have been enormous. The metal in this casing is probably aluminum and there were more of these casings than anything else. As you got to see in my last post, aluminum doesn't sell for all that much. Whoever did this needed a large truck to dump this, then they had to take the recyclables they stripped out to a recycling center. From the type of metals they stripped out and the amount of casings I removed, I don't think the person who did this made much money at all. It makes no sense to me.

Then I found this underneath the pile. It was a good bit of the stripped out aluminum all balled up. So, these people took the time to do all of this work and then left a good portion of what they wanted behind in their dump pile. There were also crushed metal bowls and other metal pieces. Even found a nice chunk of copper. 

They also left their blades behind for their sawzall. That is more money left behind. Also, these blades still had good cutting edges and were strait. At this point they were really rusted together and of no use, but when they were thrown in there I would say they were still good. 

This is the before and after just from today. I will try to put up another post tomorrow with the before and after from the beginning of the project. I do still need to go back one more time after the vernal pool dries out and see if I missed anything on the bottom. There was a huge tarp below all of the insulators and with the way I removed it I believe I got almost everything. 

After the third trip out I took a moment to photograph some butterflies. 

This is a Pickeral Frog (Lithobates paulustris) and I was happy to see it in the pool. Adults are generally found around streams and moving water. The juveniles seem to travel a small bit from streams to shallow wet areas or pools like this. These areas are probably a safer environment than a stream bank and may also provide better food sources.  

For the most part I did finish this project today. I do need to do one more pick through when it dries out, but that will be a long time from now. I know if there is anything left, it is very little. 

Recycling Day

I took a trip to Einfalt Recycling & Salvage today. This is the only recycling center I use to sell aluminum cans. Their rates are generally fair and can be checked on their website or by e-mailing them before you go. In a future post I will show in photos the entire process. Today was raining and I had a lot to do so I did not take the time to photograph my experience today. If you do not recycle aluminum cans currently, think about it. You do have to have storage space and generally it is only worth the trip if you save up six bags of crushed cans or more. The up side is you get money back off of a waste product. Now if you look at the receipt above you will see that I didn't make out well at all today on cans. The prices are like the stock market and have their ups and downs. Today was a down day and I didn't check the rates before I set out. Normally I won't turn in cans unless they are going for $0.50 or more a pound. The highest I have ever turned in for was around $0.75 and the lowest around $0.25 and the prices can change daily.

This is my second turn in of the year on cans for the year. My first was before I started this blog and at that point I had around 75 pounds. So, already this year I have recycled more than 100 pounds of aluminum, which I think is pretty cool.

I have prior commitments for the next six days and will not be posting, I will try to find some time to do some trash collecting though. Next Thursday I will be back out and taking out the trash. Again, comments, questions, e-mails and suggestions for sites to clean up are welcome. Thank you for reading!

Lehigh River (17-June-2015)

Not a very big haul today, but almost a full bag of plastic bottles and aluminum cans. Today I walked the bank of the Lehigh River in Glen Onoco, part of the Lehigh Gorge State Park. I have combed this area many times before for cans and there always seems to be more. A lot of the ones I find in this area are older and filled with sediment, which has to be cleaned out before recycling.

This type of trash collecting is a little bit more time consuming, the trash is scattered throughout the flood plain areas. Most of it is from upstream and this is just where it has come to settle after a high water event.

If anyone can come up with places for me to take tires, I will be able to get a lot more accomplished. Tires are dumped everywhere and there are a lot of sites I would like to remove them from. The main problem is no one wants them unless you pay them to take them. 

Best trash find of the day! Don't know how old it is, but it doesn't look too new. 

This was the best trash find of the day, until I found the fire truck. This came not from the shore, but in the river. Definitely not the right place for it.

I heard some yelling while collecting, so I headed for the rivers edge. The yelling had stopped by the time I arrived, but I did find its source. I just started shaking my head when I saw it. If you are in the gorge in a boat or on an inner tube, you should be wearing a personal floatation device. These individuals were not, the one in the kayak clearly capsized and at that point they should have exited the river. I watched them walk about a half mile like this in waist to chest deep water and both fell several times. Rivers can kill, even the Lehigh and the water in this picture is deep and moving fast enough to do just that. Enjoy the rivers, but respect them and use the proper safety equipment and the proper boats to do so.  

Bake Oven Knob: Day 9 (14-June-2015)

This was the last day for me cleaning up Bake Oven Knob this year. Three more bags of plastics, a backpack full of cans and a bunch of non-recyclables. 

The plan for today was to work on cleaning up at the bottom while the groups above worked on painting over graffiti. It did not work out that way however. I wasn't given a specific time, just a date, and I thought it would be done in the morning to make sure the paint was dry in case we had afternoon thundershowers. I got to the parking lot around 8:30, found the sign, but no people, so I just went for it.

Greeted by the same multicolored view, I was a little happy that something was going to be done about it. 

Found the find of the day not long after I started collecting. I should have some sort of comment for this, but I spent a lot of time out in the sun.

Sorry the photo is blurry. After climbing up the side I was not really paying much attention and the lens was fogged. After I took this first round out, I met another gentlemen cleaning up around the top. He had a good amount for the trail side. I do not recall his name, but he is another that cleans this stretch up regularly.

I found this little American Toad on the way out for the second round. Please remember, you are walking into someone else's home. Please respect and watch out for those who live there. 

The second round of trash was not fun or easy to get up to the top. Only one bag of plastics and the rest were none recyclables which were awkward to carry. In total, three camp chairs, one VCR, a basketball, the giant styrofoam plane I had photographed before, styrofoam cooler parts and of course, more spray paint cans. 

When I got back to the parking lot the painting group was just getting together. WCO Halbforester led the group and did a small talk before they headed out. He also had ice cold water for me, which by that point, was about the best thing imaginable. I was very pleased with what he had to say to the group. Some of the things I wanted to see done there are happening and he will be patrolling the area much more frequently.

I would like to say that I hear a lot of negative comments about both Game Commission and Fish and Boat, when I talk to people about related subjects. From what I know and what I hear a lot of people are misinformed about these agencies. I suggest if you don't know too much about these agencies, do a little research, I think you will find it interesting. As for the WCOs, projects like this tell me that the individual officers care and not only about the wildlife, but about the people who go to view nature with respect. I know several WCOs in both the Game Commission and Fish and Boat, I have nothing bad to say about any of them. All of them are very strict with the law, but as long as you follow it, they treat you with respect. 

As for Bake Oven Knob, I will probably do another clean up next year there, but the vast majority of trash has been removed from the bottom. I will try to get back up there this week to check out how the painting turned out and possible to get some after photos of the bottom. The problem is everything is grown in now with a lot more green.  

Thank you to all of the volunteers that were out there today! Not enough people show that they care anymore, you did and I personally appreciate that!!!

Fire Tower Road: Day 2 (11-June-2015)

Took out a full car load today. Still wondering what these are from. It had to have been insulated pipe or wire. The way they are cut something was taken out of them. I really wish these could be recycled. They don't look like they are ever going to biodegrade. 

The wheelbarrow helped a lot today. The trail is pretty smooth with the exception of a couple washouts. It took four trips to fill the car and I only tipped the wheelbarrow once on one of the washouts. It was so much easier than yesterday. I will not be going back to this site without the wheelbarrow.

I don't think I will ever comprehend why this stuff was taken as far in as it was. The walk is still nice with or without the wheelbarrow. 

It looks like I put a fairly big dent in the pile. I am estimating two more car loads and it will be done. 

I would like to point out that these rubber strips were placed in a depression off of the trail. When it rains this depression fills with water. By definition this area is a vernal pool. Vernal pools are awesome sites for amphibians and a variety of insect species. As a result of being temporary, you generally won't find large aquatic predators in them. Therefore Amphibians and aquatic insects can reproduce in these areas giving their offspring a safer start to life. I checked out the back end of the pool today to see if I could find anything living in or around it.

The only movement I found around the pond was this dragonfly which was interested in this birch log and kept coming back and landing on it. The lack of life in this pool could just be because the depression is not deep enough and the pool does not hold water for a long enough period or it could possibly be a result of something in the rubber tubing. Although possible, it is probably not the later. 

My car with a wheelbarrow hat. This honestly isn't the most ridiculous thing I have strapped to the top of it.