Wildlife Photograph

Shoreline clean-up benefits wildlife

Saturday March 15, 2008
19th River Rescue is an all volunteer effort

                It’s early spring, the chorus frogs are calling, trees are budding, and the spring wildflowers are beginning to show. It must be time to clean the shoreline of the Tennessee River. The 19th annual River Rescue is about more than just the trash. Of course we all want a clean shoreline. That’s an easy one, but there are other benefits as well. Fewer plastic bottles mean fewer entanglements for migrating shore birds like the plovers and sandpipers that stop here to rest and eat. It means great blue herons can wade and fish from the shores without danger of swallowing a fish hook or getting ensnarled in a six pack ring. Paddling ducks can swim, float and eat with fewer chances of getting clogged up in trash jams.  Removing trash and debris from the river is about making  a difference for the wildlife that depends on these waterways.Removing trash from the river does more than beautify, it also returns the river to a natural state of ebb and flow. Nature creates insect, fish, bird, and mammal habitats through long  delicate processes. We can reduce our impact by making sure our litter doesn’t interfere with this.  

Drive to Sequoyah Park or the Marine Park on Alcoa Highway. Park your car, get out and look out into the river at Looney Island. There are few leaves this time of year and it’s easy to see the nests of the great blue herons. The males of this majestic species have readied their nests and most are occupied by a mated pair of birds. These are the animals we can see and appreciate. For each pair of birds we can easily see, there are hundreds of other plant and animal species that rely on this  one habitat. Enjoy the view.

We all look forward to the year there is no trash to pick up and we can celebrate the river with a big party. But for now we must honor the river and all it supports by picking up the debris blown in by winds and dumped by careless citizens. Join us and the hundreds of folks who prove that one person makes a difference. River Rescue is Saturday April 5, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. We have 50 miles of river to care for and we need you. Call 577-4717, ext 24 to volunteer.

- Peg Beute 

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