Richard Sloan grabbed his camera and rushed to the banks of the San Joaquin River on Saturday morning as volunteer cleanup workers hauled tire No. 5,000 from a canoe.
That's right, 5,000 truck and car tires have been pulled out of this river -- but not all on Saturday. The count dates back to March 2003 for RiverTree Volunteers, a Fresno-based nonprofit group devoted to river improvement.
"We'll fill a trailer [with] tires today," said Sloan, who heads up RiverTree.
At the start of the day, the six-year total was 4,990. The milestone tire was found by a cleanup army of more than 100 people.
The volunteers included students from Edison High School and California State University, Fresno.
RiverTree was cooperating Saturday in a larger event sponsored by the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, which covers the entire 400-mile Sierra. The conservancy put on the Great Sierra River Cleanup, and the San Joaquin was one of the featured rivers.
About 3,000 volunteers in 22 counties covered 140 river miles of the Sierra Nevada and cleaned more than 40 river and creek sites from Lassen to Yosemite, according to a news release from the conservancy. They gathered more than 64 tons of trash and recyclables, according to the release.
Many first-time volunteers and students had no idea the San Joaquin River was littered with old tires.
"This is the first time we've been out to the river," said Fresno State student Katie Bradley, 20. "We're doing this as part of a class."
Sloan said many thousands of tires had been dumped in the river over many years. But tires are not the only castoffs in the river.
"There are a couple of sunken motor boats and a refrigerator downstream," he said. "Over the years we've found car parts, tools, wallets and cameras."
Ali Engellenner, 51, of Fresno climbed out of her canoe, floated briefly in the river and reached down to pick up soft-drink cans. She held onto the side of the canoe, which was steadied by her 13-year-old grandchild, Marina Mendizabal.
"I'm pretty brave," Engellenner said. "But I got a little scared when it felt like something touched my foot."
On shore, Hank Delcore, 41, a Fresno State anthropology professor, lugged a tire up to a massive trailer. He continued to help empty canoes on a sweaty, buggy morning. One canoe unloaded a heavy bucket seat from a vehicle.
Sitting in the shade, Delcore said he had followed river issues over many years, and he was aware that a vast restoration would begin Oct. 1.
That day, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will release the first restoration flows, which will wet downstream stretches that have been mostly dry for the last 60 years.
With no outlet to the Pacific Ocean, salmon went extinct in the river decades ago. But by late 2012, officials will reintroduce salmon runs.
Said Delcore, "I'm tickled about the restoration."
A few rules are needed to help foster a feeling of community. We encourage a free and open exchange of ideas in a climate of mutual respect, but any post that violates someone's right to use and enjoy fresnobee.com is prohibited. Before you post, please read the terms of use and obey these simple guidelines.
Here are the ground rules:
Contents of this site are © Copyright The Fresno Bee. All rights reserved.
E-Mail
Print
@Nyx.CommentBody@