Smith River Alliance
For over 40 years, the Smith River Alliance (SRA) has been directing their efforts towards restoration and stewardship of the Smith River watershed’s and Del Norte County’s natural resources. It’s a tall order that requires teamwork and fortunately there are many public and private partners with similar interests. One form of stewardship SRA practices is hosting and organizing both coastal and river cleanups. Cleanup areas include our local beaches, coastal wetland habitat, and the Smith River National Recreation Area. With over 400 designated Wild and Scenic River miles, the Smith River has the highest concentration of designated Wild and Scenic Rivers in the nation and the majority of the watershed is protected as a National Recreation Area.
There is a love for this place that brings the community together to protect the ancient redwood forests, crystal clear waterways, and beautiful beaches of this region.
On July 5, more than 50 dedicated volunteers gathered to cleanup the beaches from Battery Point to South Beach befouled by spent fireworks, soda cans, food wrappings, cigarette butts, broken bottles, plastic toys, and food wrappers. Following this effort, on October 7, 30 volunteers collected trash from multiple coastal wetland sites owned and managed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The majority of trash and debris collected in coastal wetland areas, such as Elk Creek Wildlife Area, is from illegal dumping and abandoned illegal campsites. The total combined amount of trash collected from these two cleanups exceeds 5 tons. The wetlands and streams of Elk Creek provide habitat for many plant and wildlife communities. This includes Coho salmon, which have been listed as endangered under both the California Endangered Species Act and the Federal Endangered Species Act.
It is estimated that over 2 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean each year, with a majority of it coming from streams, adjacent wetlands, and rivers that discharge into the ocean. Much of this trash, if not addressed, will eventually find its way into our waterways. The cleanups are not focused on the volume or size of trash collected, but rather the collective effort to keep our coastal communities clean. Special thanks to all of our volunteers and cleanup partners including California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Cal-Trans staff, the City of Crescent City, Del Norte Solid Waste Management Authority, Hambro WSG, Inc., Hiouchi Cafe, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, National and State Parks, Redwood Parks Conservancy, Rural Human Services, and Schmidt’s House of Jambalaya. If you are interested in participating in future volunteer cleanups and events, please sign up on the Smith River Alliance and/or Redwood Parks Conservancy’s websites.