Dam debris photos

On Sunday, Brain and I went canoeing on the Milwaukee River, scraping bottom many times. I got a few photos (some of them are even beautiful, but not these). When I saw this article by Chris Liebenthal on the subject (worth reading), I figured I should probably post them. I don't know if you remember, but earlier this month, there was an offer- by volunteers- (article here) to remove the woody debris, thwarted by the need for an environmental pollutant assessment- which would cost $100,000, and was not in the budget. Huh. There is a lot of debris down by the dam. We were astounded. Look at all the plants growing in it! Did I say plants? I meant noxious weeds.

And, best of all, some enterprising individuals have even built a little cabin with a deck out to the river, using found wood (see below).

River cleanup adventures

My general philosophy is that the best things in life just happen. So today, when the garden project that I showed up for (tools in hand) simply was not happening, I found myself signing up instead for a river cleanup (which was actually the original plan, but that's a whole other story) and getting into a canoe to paddle away with a man I had never met before. He not only turned out to not be a rapist/strangler, but was a pleasant and interesting companion who didn't mind stopping several times for photos, and from the same city (in a different hemisphere, no less) than a good friend of mine whom I meet weekly for - German alert!- kaffeeklatch. Between the two of us, we collected several bags worth of garbage. There were countless citizen volunteers out from KMGB, UEC, COA, and the Riverkeeper, enjoying the sunshine and just making the river, streets, and park a heck of a lot nicer looking.

Here's an "after" picture taken just south of the curve in North Avenue. The "before" picture would have been strewn with our detritus of human living. I am sure you can imagine it.

Upcoming events

Putting these down the drain means drinking them later.
April 18th, 2009, is Medicine Collection Day- residents of Milwaukee County can bring unused meds to the Miller Park lot by the Sausage Haus. Never put unused meds down any toilet, sink, or drain- water treatment plants are not designed to remove pharmaceuticals from wastewater. Don't worry that the racing sausages are going to get high on your unused Oxycontin: all medicine collected will be destroyed by law enforcement or a federally licensed incinerator. You can bring prescription or over-the-counter medication, ointments, sprays, inhalers, creams, vials and pet medications. For more information (including neighboring counties' dropoff sites), see the MMSD web site. You and your loved ones don't want to be swimming in or drinking other people's Ortho Tri-Cyclen or Abilify, or eating fish that did either.

Earth Day cleanups- Saturday, April 18th, in Kletzsch Park (meet at 0830)- rain or shine- dress appropriately; also, the Milwaukee Riverkeeper's river cleanups are occurring at multiple sites the same day- see their website for more information.


Save the date for the first annual MRPA Lincoln Park cleanup, Saturday, May 16th- meet at Solly's at 0800. Further details forthcoming.


Kletzsch Park Weedouts- invasive species removals every Saturday in May from 0900 to noon. Wear suitable clothing for moving in the brush. Meet at the Pavilion at 6560 Milwaukee River Parkway. Help keep our Wisconsin treasure, the Trillium, from being overtaken by evil garlic mustard. Trilliums in Kettle Moraine, photo taken May 2007.

The "trash hatch."

My photo, late October, 2007
A commenter on fellow blogger Erik Helm's site referred to the Estabrook Dam as the "trash hatch." It is true that Milwaukee County hasn't cleaned up the floaters since, I believe, 2005 (could it have been 2004?) They used to use heavy machinery to get rid of the trash and logs that build up behind the dam and spillway. There is something larger at work, though- the fact that we as a society not only keep creating this kind of crap (fast food containers, plastic bottles, and all other detritus), but once we have created it and used it once, we neglect to get it to where it is supposed to go (away, I assume. My mom lives just past The Dump on the county line, another visual reminder of this aspect of modern life). Getting rid of the dam will get rid of its ability to block this junk, but it will just continue down the stream to Lake Michigan, where it will harm wildlife just the same.


I had a conversation once with another thoughtful individual: I described to him how I had witnessed, time and time again, people enjoying, say, a bag of chips or a candy bar- and as soon as the last morsel was consumed, the person simply dropped the wrapper. In the street. Or on the sidewalk in front of my house. (This was at our prior home). We asked the city to put a trash receptacle on the corner, which they did. Yet, the behavior continued, despite this convenience that we had facilitated. So, after I described this daily scenario, I asked my friend why? Why do people do this?


"Because," he said, "they lack hope."


Even still- people that do (presumably) have hope continue to create just as much garbage- so much that escapees will inevitably find themselves on the street, washing into the storm drains, which lead down to the river- as most things do.

River cleanups- call to action

Photo taken by me, 2007, on the river near the dolomite falls in Estabrook Park.

The Milwaukee Riverkeeper is sponsoring the Earth Day river cleanups on Saturday, April 18th, from 9am to noon. I will participate, most likely in Lincoln Park, my neighborhood park. I URGE AND ENCOURAGE all Estabrook Dam supporters to participate as well. Here is a list of sites.
http://milwaukeeriverkeeper.org/2009cleanup/2009cleanup.htm
I note that Kletzsch Park, Estabrook park and the UWM Park and Ride on Humboldt are listed also, as well as a canoe-in cleanup off Brown Deer Road- fun!
When you register, feel free to let the Riverkeeper staff know you are an Estabrook Dam supporter. They need to know that we care about the river beyond "our own backyards."
See you there!