Lehigh River (24-May-2016)

Last year I spent a good amount of time working on the riverbank of the Lehigh around the Lehigh Gap Nature Center. I wanted to see how much different it looked this year and how much new trash washed up since I was there last. I parked near the boat launch and worked my way down river away from the nature center. This specific area had the most trash along this section.

Right away I started finding debris piles and trash between the river and the trail. I am very lucky that I haven't had a reaction to poison ivy since I was a child. Most of the green in this photo is poison ivy.

Trash bags, there are two in this photo and a third was out of view. 

Of course there were cans. All of these were in the same spot.

Looking down river. When I first started out at the launch there were three people setting out on the water. They had a single person kayak and an inflatable pool raft. There were no launch permits on either vessel and not a single one of them had a personal floatation device. It is not required by law to wear a pfd at this time of year, but if you are on the water it is required that you at least have one in the boat. The launch permits are for use of the Fish and Boat Commission funded boat launches like the one at this access. I didn't say anything to them, but I knew exactly what was going to happen. In this photo they are off to the side of the river to the right. They didn't get stopped by a WCO, they got stopped by the river. Pool rafts aren't meant to handle river conditions and when they took the raft through the rapids on the left, it got shredded. Last year an individual lost his life in this same spot under similar conditions. Use proper gear, have the right permits and use common sense before you set out. 

Largest plastic item taken out on this trip. 

I am not sure why someone was digging out this sandy bank, but they were. There are not many areas like this along the Lehigh and it is a special habitat type that one river bird uses for nesting. Kingfishers will find these places and excavate cavities into the bank. Right above the biggest dug out hole was one of these cavities. It is always sad to see habitat destruction especially in areas like this that see little human activity. 

This I discovered last year and I still do not have a plan to remove it. The only place it can go is down river and it isn't something I can comfortably escort down in my kayak. Any suggestions? Feel free to comment. 

This was the worst area last year. It is at the bottom of the rapids and in high water is where a lot of items are pushed to the side and trapped in the vegetation. There was not nearly as much, yet I still collected two small piles. 

All from the surrounding area in the photo above these. These two piles topped off my burlap sack and filled my pack as well.

The haul for this trip.

Two Tiger and one Spicebush Swallowtail. They were getting a drink from the moist soil on the bank. 

You too can help with taking out the trash! If you get out hiking take a grocery bag with you, give it a second use and fill it with trash while you are out! Every bit helps. You can also help contributing to this project here: Help Fund Taking Out the Trash

Like this project? Like it on Facebook: Taking Out the Trash in Eastern PA