New Melones Lake’s Great Sierra River Cleanup Event

Written by: Cindy Davenport, Supervisory Park Ranger

New Melones Lake 2016 Great Sierra River CleanupOn Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016, from 9 a.m. to noon, five Bureau of Reclamation Park Rangers and 12 volunteers from the local community, ages 16-70, spent the morning removing debris from the shoreline of New Melones Lake as part of the Great Sierra River Cleanup (GSRC).

Reclamation’s Central California Area Office partnered with the Tuolumne County Land Trust, Tuolumne Resource Conservation District, Tuolumne Master Gardeners, Tuolumne County Probation Department, and New Melones Lake Marina to hold the 2016 GSRC. The cleanup focused on sites around New Melones Lake in the Stanislaus River watershed as the declining water level has exposed trash and debris.

This annual event, coordinated by the Sierra Nevada Conservancy and held in conjunction with California Coastal Cleanup Day, encourages the public to become involved in maintaining the health of their local watershed.

Volunteers on two Reclamation vessels and on a boat from the New Melones Marina scouted the lakeshore, and teenagers from the Tuolumne County Probation Department walked the shoreline of the Tuttletown Recreation Area picking up trash.

The energetic clean-up crew removed bottles, cans, metal cables, sheet iron, tires and old pop-up shelters. Thanks to the volunteers and Reclamation staff, approximately 1,200 pounds of trash and debris were removed from New Melones! Great job, everyone!

Published on September 27, 2016