Beltzville State Park (27-Jan-2017)

I wanted to see if there were any accesses around Beltzville Lake that I hadn't yet been to for a clean-up. I thought there might be another on the route 209 side of the lake and I was right. It was at the lower end of the lake and only had a small parking area. From what I found there doesn't seem to be any trailheads here, but there is an old access road down to the lake. 

One of the first pieces of trash I picked up someone kindly placed on the gate and it was an old pull tab can. I don't recall ever finding this brand can before. 

With the water still low in the lake I was able to walk the edge for my trash search. Areas like this would only be accessible by boat when the lake is at normal levels. For some items, like plastic bags entangled in downed trees, it is much easier to remove them when on foot than from a kayak. 

The first finds by the lake were fishing gear, of course line and part of a rod too.

Some things, like this plastic container full of rocks, just make me wonder... What are people doing? Was someone collecting rocks from this spot? Were they trying to hide the container they no longer wanted in the lake by sinking it with rocks? These a questions I will just never have the answers too.  

Balloons are a very common find. You may not think you are littering when you release a balloon into the air, but they do come down eventually and end up where they do not belong. I know I am repeating myself, but if you choose to use balloons for a party, please make sure they are secured and pop and dispose of them properly after the party is over.

I only went a little further than the downed tree in this photo. Most of the trash was around the access point and I wasn't finding much working my way up the bank. 

I did discover this Turtle Platform. Too heavy to move out by foot, this is something that I can come back with a kayak for in warmer weather. You may see these floating generally in coves around lakes or ponds. This one is upside down, the capped pvc pipes keep these tiny rafts afloat and they are tethered to the bottom of the lake. Turtles will use these platforms to bask and in areas that do not have a lot of natural basking spots artificial platforms are perfect. Hopefully the park will be able to use this again!

This was all I collected from the first stop. After loading the trash into my car I headed further up the lake to the Preacher's Camp access.

At Preacher's Camp I took trails that lead down the lake and hit the points where the trails generally meet the water. Most of the time these are the trashiest places. 

This is a small pile from one of the trail access points. Most of the trash was normal except for a bag that looked like it could have been a laptop case. It may have held someone's fishing gear, who knows?

Penny found herself once again tied to a tree as I cleaned up another access to the lake. I think for the most part she enjoys going on these clean-ups, she just doesn't like the waiting when we come to an area with a lot of trash. She does get extra treats when I make her wait tied up like this. 

I walked back along the edge of the lake and collected a few more items. There were some things along this section that I could see on the shore that I just couldn't get to due to thick thorns. When the lake if full I may try to get back along here in the kayak with tongs. I did remove the bottle in this photo. 

The second pile of the day was a little larger than the first. Non-recyclables were disposed of and the recyclables were loaded in the car. Overall it was a good haul for a day in January. 
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State Gamelands (19-Jan-2017)

Since on the 13th I found a good amount of trash at one of the gamelands accesses near Beltzville, I decided to go back and see what some of the other gamelands were like around there. I first started at one away from the lake that I have never found a whole lot of trash at. I walked the field edges, picking up shotgun shells mostly and found a flock of Cedar Waxwings and Robins. Two of the Cedar Waxwings are above. 

On the edge of a high grass field I found this larvae that I believe is a Sawfly. It is not the first time I have come across larval stage insects in winter, but it is not often I find them at this time.  

This was all I picked up at the first stop and is about what I expected to find. Hunters, please pick up your plastic shell casings after you take a shot. 

I then stopped at another gamelands access, this time next to the lake. Above are a few Black Ducks swimming in one of the coves on the lake. 

Wherever trails meet the water I always seem to find trash. This time the majority of it was fishing items. 

This was everything at the second stop. I was happy I didn't find piles like I did on the 13th. 
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Beltzville State Park (18-Jan-2017)

With most of the snow from the 14th melted away it was time to get back to taking out some trash! I invited Stephen Kloiber along on this trip. I know I have mentioned Mr. Kloiber in previous posts, he knows his stuff when it comes to birds and moths. Hopefully this summer he can help me with some moth posts on here. We started at the Pine Run Boat Launch and did a short walk around. Common Loons, like the one above were the only waterfowl on this portion of the lake.  

The water level was still down so we did collect some things from the lakebed. Didn't find much this time, but did add a lure to my collection. 

We then walked the field above the launch. I am always happy to have someone along that can readily identify birds. This is a Cooper's Hawk, although I have seen many Coops, I still would have had to look it up, Kloiber knew what it was immediately. 

This was all we collected from around the fields. I hope the large rubber base to a road sign will be used again by the DCNR, it was placed next to and not in one of the trash cans. 

We then headed below the dam and did the loop around the Sawmill Trail. There we found the most trash of the day. At the end of the loop we had the Bald Eagle in the above photo flying over the parking area. 

Everything from the Sawmill Trail loop. Surprisingly we didn't see hardly any other birds on the hike.  Generally I at least see some in this area. 

We made one final stop back at the lake and Kloiber spotted a Muskrat swimming across the lake. This was the second one he spotted, but the only of the two I got okay photos of. 

It swam right into shore and didn't seem to mind that we were standing not that far away. 

This was the last bit of trash we picked up from another section of the lakebed. Thank you Stephen for coming along on this trip and pointing out and identifying some of the wildlife I probably would have missed.

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State Gamelands and Beltzville State Park (9-Jan-2017)

This was a frigid day and I my intention was to just take a couple of shot walks around Beltzville Lake on gamelands and within the state park. The whole idea was to just check out the areas to see what needed to be done when the weather warmed up. The first stop was on gamelands that I removed a good deal of trash from last year. Both by the road and by the lake at this site are problem areas and I had hoped it didn't get too bad since my last clean-up. Both sites were a mess, but I don't think either were as bad as they were last year.

Like other sites around the lake an old road runs into the water here, making it easy access from Pohopocco Drive. This is most likely why this area gets trashed a little more than others around the lake. This is what the bank looked like. It was cold and I knew this trash wasn't going anywhere, so I did pick up a few items, but left most everything for a warmer day. 

Not far off the bank there was a lone male Bufflehead swimming and sometimes diving down into the lake. There was other waterfowl on the lake, but everything else was on the far shore. 

I tried sticking only to recyclable items, a few other things got picked up as well. The shotgun shells were all from along the closed roadway that now acts as a path to the lake. This is one site I definitely will be back to for the rest of the trash. 

After a short warm up in the car it was off to the next stop at the Pine Run Boat Launch. The walk here was very short and I didn't pick up much at all. 

I did see a few birds at this stop. Like this Mockingbird that was hanging out on the far edge of the parking area. 

This pair of Red-Tailed Hawks were perched in the trees above the fields at this stop as well. 

The photo on the left was of the few items I picked up at the Pine Run stop. The cans on the right I grabbed at my last stop of the day by the spillway below the dam. From these stops I did pick up a few items, but mainly learned what spots around the lake need the most work when the weather warms up.

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Beltzville State Park (8-Dec-2016)

Beltzville, Beltzville, Beltzville, there is so much ground to cover at Beltzville. This was a cold day and I did not pick well as far as sites go. Had I thought about it a little more I would have picked an area where the sun was shining down away from the wind. The first section I started working on was along the Bauer Creek Channel in the shade. I did pick well as far as trash goes though. 

As soon as I got down to the lakeside I started finding trash and it didn't end until I took the trail out. The thing that killed me the most about this site was that every time I looked across the channel I could see the sun hitting what looked to be a nice warm bank on the other side.

One nice thing about the water being low, other than the access to the lakebed, is that I can get into the brush on the side that I can't work my kayak into when I am on the water at normal levels. There is a lot of trash tucked into these spots.

Added some lures to my collection. The one on the left was added, the one on the right was thrown. I did not know that spoons sometimes had applied stickers, I thought most were still painted.

Can you spot the syringe? I am sure this was thrown into the creek further upstream and floated down. The person who threw it in probably had no cares when he or she did, but it is something that you should care and think about. This is on the upper end of the lake flowing in. The current goes towards the beach area. Syringes can be found anywhere now, especially if you have children take note of this. I am sick of finding them.

This one was collected and disposed of in a manner directed by a PA Fish and Boat Commission Officer. If you happen to find any the best thing to do is contact local law enforcement and have them tell you their preferred method of disposal. I have been told different things from different agencies. 

This flat was the last section I worked on. Many items, some newer, some old, all had some degree of mud in or on them.

On the tree line I found the chair and I had a full pack so it was time to start heading back. 

Found this just into the tree line on my way out. It was given to Tyler Sacks who has helped out with other clean-ups. He has since built an all wood bottom to it and made a trash barge for his little brother. Another item that has a new life and although this one needed new parts, all of which are biodegradable. 

I found the nearest trash can and did my sort. I left the chair and the non-recyclables. Everything else was loaded in my car. Another trash adventure at Beltzville was complete!
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

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