Volunteers team up on clean up project project

May 15, 2007

BY WILL ELLIOTT

Frontiersman

MAT-SU - A number of local groups are pitching in to cleanup Valley creeks this spring.

One water body in particular, Cottonwood Creek, had not seen a cleanup since 2001. But it was cleaned from mouth to headwaters Saturday. A community barbecue followed for volunteers.

&#8220It was due,” said George Taylor, program coordinator for the Wasilla Soil and Water Conservation District (WSWCD).

For the Cottonwood cleanup, the WSWCD partnered with Valley nonprofit group Alaskans for Palmer Hayflats, the state Department of Fish and Game and local volunteers. The WSWCD is a legal subdivision of the state and assists landowners and community groups with conservation and land development in the Valley. Alaskans for Palmer Hayflats was formed to care for the Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge through conservation, education and enhancement projects.

&#8220This is our first effort in several years to actually target a local stream for a thorough cleanup,” Taylor said. &#8220Funding for this project comes in part from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation in an effort to maintain and improve salmon habitat.”

Cottonwood Creek, a salmon stream, runs through many Wasilla neighborhoods before crossing the Palmer Hay Flats and emptying into Knik Arm. The creek needed cleaning if it and surrounding areas were to remain healthy, Taylor said.

According to Taylor, there were stretches of the creek with high levels of fecal coliform bacteria, likely due to aging septic systems, surface runoff such as dog feces or manure, and high concentrations of waterfowl where wintering birds were fed by humans. Additionally, reduction of natural vegetation along the creek, as a result of new homes, lawns, driveways and other development, had allowed runoff of more unfiltered water, sediment and pollution into the stream in recent years.

&#8220An easy answer here is to clean up after ourselves,” Taylor said. &#8220The Cottonwood Creek cleanup day is a great start. Clean healthy water is a quality-of-life issue for people and wild creatures. The groundwater that most of us depend on for drinking and for use in our homes is part of the same watershed system that feeds and draws from area streams. Even if you don't engage directly in activities along the stream, the water within the stream system affects all of us.”

Saturday's cleanup entailed walking or paddling down the creek, picking up litter and identifying larger trash like junk cars or refrigerators to be removed.

Cars overflowed from the parking lot during the noon barbecue for volunteers Saturday, hosted by Alaskans for Palmer Hayflats at the Scout Ridge overlook parking lot. Volunteers celebrated their efforts and chipped in to pull out one last piece of trash, a rusty freezer that had rolled down the bluff and lodged in trees at the edge of the hay flats.

Alaskans for Palmer Hayflats President Kris Abshire said her group had already worked with local schools, Boy Scouts, state agencies and other groups to restore areas near the creek on the hay flats. Abshire said her group saw WSWCD's decision to organize a full scale cleanup of the whole creek this year as a chance to combine forces and create a larger, more fruitful event.

&#8220It went very well,” Abshire said.

Taylor agreed. &#8220It looks like a wilderness stream again,” he said of Cottonwood Creek, though both he and Abshire said they had hoped more residents would volunteer.

Also Saturday, Alaskans for Palmer Hayflats held a second cleanup at Reflections Lake, at the Knik River access road off the Glenn Highway. The lake, which the group is working to turn into a recreation site with trails, is still in need of further cleaning, Abshire said.

Taylor offered a number of options for people who missed this weekend's cleanups.

&#8220There is still an ongoing need for thoughtful people to clean up,” Taylor said. &#8220Several community councils have cleanup days organized. Watch for opportunities to participate. When I am out fishing or hiking I keep a couple plastic grocery bags in my day pack. Picking up that pop can or wrapper on the ground instead of walking over it is always a step in the right direction. Cleanup is ongoing. It can be organized, or it can be done quietly on an individual basis. It all helps.”

For more information on future events, call the Wasilla Soil and Water Conservation District at 357-4563, ext. 106. Alaskans for Palmer Hayflats maintains a Web site at www.palmerhayflats.org/index.html.

Contact Will Elliott at

352-2252 or will.elliott@

frontiersman.com.