River Trash! Do Good Pick up Trash!
River Trash Challenge!
While wandering around the woods and utilizing river access trails I often find myself interrupted, quite bluntly, by trash! I have been picking up trailside trash for as long as I can remember, always have, and always will.
Trout Creek Outfitters in Truckee posted a “River Trash Streamer Fly Challenge” on Instagram to tie up a streamer with “found river trash”
And here is my trash fly, which was pretty fun to tie up…..But it's more than that…. It's a mindset, so hear me out….
River Trash and roadside dumps on public lands, just plain suck!
But, I found that picking up that litter, carrying it out, storing it in my truck, and then throwing it out properly actually makes a difference on the rivers I fish and guide on. And NOW, it makes a difference in how I feel about River Trash!
I Tied this fly up from the trash I have been picking up riverside and storing in my truck. The most common things I find and pack out are single-use plastics and alcohol-related items, bottles, cans, and tops.
The illegal dump piles people create by driving their trash into the forest instead of taking it to the landfill and paying for it to be disposed of properly are a huge challenge in small communities. Is money the factor or just plain ignorance or both? These dump piles then spread and the trash slowly makes its way to the rivers. We need to do better to incentivize people to use the local trash facilities to dump their larger household items, tires, refrigerators, etc that cost money to dispose of at landfills and dumps. Connecting with your local community clean-up program and local charities that have funds to make these changes is a great first step.
I have my eye on a few mattresses and some tires along a remote 4x4 trail into the Wild and Scenic Middle Fork Feather River, that I am returning for in the spring. Yeah, it’s a pain and will require me to bring in a pickup without a topper and possibly a chainsaw but, it’s worth it to me to get the trash out of our public lands and brought to the local landfill. Even if I am paying the bill….. it is the right thing to do. Do good, pick up trash, big or small… it all adds up.
We all know that plastics are bad for our waterways and oceans. Did you know that land-based waste is carried to our oceans from rivers and streams? That accounts for some rivers, but in other rivers, the plastics never make it out and live their eternal lifespan polluting the microcosm they are in. Plastics retained in rivers end up retaining in Plants, Riverbed Sediments, Logged natural entrapments, and so on. These trash items then clog the natural flow of the river and slowly deposit Microplastics into our river system. Once broken into microplastics, they are either deposited in the sediment, transported in the water column, or ingested by biota, which then change the natural food cycle of the waterway. Scientists and environmentalists are now using terms like “Rivers as Plastic Reservoirs” .
Check out these great organizations that helped inspire me on how I now look at River Trash!
Patagonia Action Works - supported grassroots groups working to find solutions to the environmental crisis.
https://www.patagonia.com/actionworks/home/choose-location/?referer=logo
Leave No Trace - offers free educational tools and guidelines to help you lead by example for your communities, friends, family, and other visitors.
https://www.instagram.com/leavenotraceorg/
Trout Unlimited - Fishing, Conservation, Community
https://www.instagram.com/troutunlimited/
Friends of the Plumas - We protect and maintain wild places so that untamed nature, remote places, and clean water is protected for generations to come.
https://www.instagram.com/friendsofplumaswilderness
American Rivers - National River Clean up
https://www.americanrivers.org/make-an-impact/national-river-cleanup/
https://www.instagram.com@americanrivers
Trout Creek Outfitters
https://www.troutcreekoutfitters.com
https://www.instagram.com/troutcreekoutfitters/
