Ice on the Nashua River

Well, I did manage to get out on Dec. 1st for what was apparently the last clean-up run of 2007. I grabbed a lot of small debris from center road, downstream past the small islands I've been working on to where there is a blow-down which requires portage.
That day was the day we had some sort of tropical storm - so it was incredibly windy. But I did manage to gather a full load of materials, so when the ice melts, not so much will wash downstream.
It was a great season, and hopefully the ice will break up early in the year.
Happy Holidays,
-Ed

Was someone else cleaning up the Nashua River?

Saturday I went paddling on the Nashua at Center Rd. When I got there I saw 2 bags of kitchen trash on the path in the corn field I park in. The Nashua River Watershed Association booklet says it's private property, and apparently the owner doesn't mind kayakers parking there. So I cleaned up that trash and went to work.
Upstream there are some logjams that typically catch a lot of trash, but they were almost empty. Did someone clean up? If so, thank you!
So I collected some other stuff and went back downstream. At the big logjam I've been working on, I tried to collect some stuff out in the middle. See the before and after



Again, it's not ddone, but I've getting close.

Nashua River Brainshark Presentation

Hey I updated my Brainshark Presentation to include some new progress and some new pictures. I still haven't built a "before and after" gallery, but at least I updated my Brainshark Presentation. Check it out: View My Brainshark Presentation.

Nashua River Follow-up

Today, I made 3 runs down to the large logjam mentioned in the prior post. I wanted to collect everything I'd bundled up before winter or a flood, and since we were due to get a tropical storm today, I thought it might be a good idea.
It took me 3 trips to haul it all out - 2 tires, 2 coolers, 6 bags of trash and a couple of other miscellaneous items. There's still some trash there, but perhaps another weekend. At least I know this stuff won't end up downstream.

Over the edge?

OK, maybe I'm going a bit over the edge - you tell me. Here's the deal, Friday I went out and bought hip-waders. I don't fish. I don't hunt. I pick up trash.

I went out Saturday morning and hit the Nashua River Watershed at Rt. 117 in Lancaster. My goal was to finally make a dent in the enormous logjam between Rt. 117 and Center Rd. I strapped on the hip-waders, grabbed a bunch of trash bags, some strong waterproof gloves and got into it.

I worked for about 3 hours on one small area. My goal wasn't to haul everything away, rather collect and bag as much as I could reach. I've been picking at this one area for a couple of years now, but nothing seems to make a dent.

I was in as deep as I could go, collecting debris. I pulled 2 tires, 2 coolers, a propane tank, and about 9 bags of rubbish out of the water and from all around the island. That was hard work, and it certainly made a dent, but it's probably less than half of what's there. Here's a before shot:



And here's an after shot:



I couldn't get everything, but I really didn't expect to. It's a good start on what is the single biggest problem area on the Nashua River now.

If you're paddling past, there are many bags of collected trash still on the island, please grab some and take it with you, I'd appreciate it.

Product Labeling

I recently installed some flooring in my home which required an adhesive. So I finished the project and ended up with a little bit of the stuff left. Now, obviously this stuff isn't exactly inert.
So I looked at the packaging for instructions as to how to dispose of the product. Nothing. I believe it should be the responsibility of packaged product manufacturers - especially those which are hazardous - to include instructions as to how to properly dispose of their product.
Think about it - when you buy paint, does it include instructions for proper disposal? Not likely.

Al Gore - Nobel Peace Prize

You know what - good for him! I'm not political, and he's not holding any office, but I think that's a nice use of the Peace Prize - to showcase someone's environmental advocacy.