BETHEL — A 2-mile stretch of the Androscoggin River will get some attention next month from Telstar High School students and a river conservation group.
As part of National River Cleanup, members of the Upper Andro Anglers Alliance and students from the Telstar Challenge Course will clean from Newt’s Landing in West Bethel to Davis Park in Bethel.
Starting at 9 a.m. Thursday, May 19, from Newt’s Landing, students, ages 16-18, armed with garbage bags, will float down the river in rafts while towing garbage scow rafts to collect debris along the riverbanks, alliance spokeswoman Wende Gray stated in a Wednesday report.
Northern Waters Outfitters of Errol, N. H., will provide rafts and garbage scows. The group will take out at Davis Park where the town of Bethel will provide trash collection and take it to the town’s solid waste facility.
“Community members are welcome to help clean up this and other stretches of the river,” Gray said.
Rivers and watersheds have been used as dumps for old appliances, shopping carts and other refuse.
“Litter, such as foam cups, plastic bottles and food wrappers float into waterways, build up along the shoreline and stay there for years,” Gray said.
“With landfill space at a premium, recycling efforts stymied by a lack of plant capacity and toxic waste expensive to control, a grassroots effort can help maintain a constituency for preserving and protecting waterways.”
Last year, 2 million pounds of trash and debris were collected across the nation and 6,000 miles of rivers and streams cleaned.
“In years past the upper Andro yielded over a ton of debris, including bed springs, tires and tire rims, a boat motor and a 1950s record player,” Gray said.
The Upper Andro Anglers Alliance sponsors the local cleanup.
“There’s been a long-standing effort to improve the Androscoggin’s water quality and fishery-now we need to improve the shore land zone along this wonderful river,” Bruce Pierce, alliance director, said.
Immediately following the cleanup, Bethel’s Best Pizza Grille & Dairy Bar will host a pizza party for all participants at Davis Park.
National River Cleanup was founded in 1992 by America Outdoors, the largest association of America’s outfitters and guides, to assist local groups in keeping waterways clean. More information can be found on its website at www.nationalrivercleanup.org.
In 2007 American Rivers assumed administration of the river cleanup. Founded in 1973, American Rivers is the nation’s leading river advocacy organization.
tkarkos@sunjournal.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
