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Ron Blair, left, and Rex Maynard will be in the canyons of the American River on Saturday as volunteers for the Earth Day American River Cleanup. Photo by Don Chaddock.
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In honor of Earth Day, which is officially observed on Tuesday, one group will be turning their attention to the American River on Saturday.
Protect American River Canyons (PARC) organizes about 100 volunteers every year to hike down to the river and pick up trash, litter, old computers, refrigerators and whatever else people have tossed into the canyon. Volunteers from local service clubs, the high school and the general public show up in droves.
And for those who’ve never ventured into the canyons, now is the perfect time.
“It’s a good opportunity to see the river and canyons,” said Eric Peach, PARC’s Conservation Chairman. “Right now, everything is blooming. They can come out, enjoy the river, and help us clean. If we get a good turnout (of volunteers), and everyone does a little, we get a lot more done.”
Peach said it’s sad that with that much natural beauty to enjoy, some people ruin it by throwing garbage into the canyons.
“You wonder what people are thinking,” Peach said. “It’s jarring to look at all that beauty and see trash along side it.”
Peach encourages families to come out and treat it as a “walk with a purpose.” The bulk of the cleanup happens underneath the Foresthill Bridge.
“People are throwing everything off of (the bridge) like TVs, ladders and shopping carts,” he said.
PARC was formed about 35 years ago to try to stop construction of the proposed Auburn dam. George Beland was one of the founding members. According to Peach, the annual cleanups started about 25 years ago.
“Those early cleanups were less organized,” he said. “A few volunteers would go down there with trash bags.”
He said the group now takes a more “industrial” approach as organizers have partnered with other agencies. The California Highway Patrol donates their helicopter to hoist heavy loads out of the canyons. PG&E donates the use of a few trucks to pick up larger items, like washing machines, that have been rolled off the sides of roads. This year, the statewide organization Keep California Beautiful is getting involved and will offer reusable cloth grocery bags to volunteers. Raley’s and Canyon Keepers, as well the Sentinel and Auburn Journal, are also sponsors of the cleanup.
Last year, Peach said they found an old van. Rex Maynard, a former PG&E worker, cut it into smaller pieces, and the helicopter lifted those pieces out to a loading area where it was then transported to Auburn Placer Disposal, another event sponsor.
What happens to all that trash? According to Peach, much of it – such as cans, bottles and metal – is recycled. For more information, call Eric Peach at 530-885-8878.
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