2022 Cleanup Crew at New Melones Lake
The Bureau of Reclamation’s New Melones Lake Park Rangers and volunteers have participated in Sierra Nevada Alliance’s Great Sierra River Cleanup for about 10 years. They have cleaned up in and around the lake, both by foot and by boat, gathering trash, recyclables, and just about every kind of debris one can think of over the years.
The Great Sierra River Cleanup is an event organized in conjunction with California Coastal Cleanup Day – the largest volunteer event in the state. Preliminary results for this year’s event reported more than 27,000 volunteers removing around 221,000 pounds of trash and 30,000 pounds of recyclable materials from California’s rivers, streams, lakes, and ocean.
On September 17, Reclamation rangers and two volunteers participated in the cleanup event at New Melones, where most of the cleanup was completed by boat. Rangers estimated a collected 1,500 lbs. of trash and recyclables. Items included plastic and glass bottles, aluminum cans, cigarette butts, wrappers, fishing tackle, a concrete base for an umbrella, six balloons floating in the lake full of confetti, lots of packaging, plastic chairs, bottle caps, tires, and even a queen-sized mattress.
HUGE thanks to the New Melones Lake Park Rangers and volunteers for participating in this yearly event!
