Chilkat Valley News - Serving Haines and Klukwan, Alaska since 1966

Thank you to the fabulous group of 17 people who helped with the two-day marine debris beach cleanup at Battery/Kelgaya bays on May 13-14! This extended “Earth Day” activity was sponsored by Haines Friends of Recycling in cooperation with the Haines Hiking Group and Haines State Parks. We collected an impressive 15 large bags of small debris plus numerous large items that had been snagged, concentrated, deposited, trapped and buried by high energy waves in the woody debris piles at high intertidal beaches like the southeast-facing Battery Bay (Bare Man Cove).

A total of about 125 pounds of broken-up hard plastic, food wrappers, gillnet and line, recyclable plastic bottles and cans, and intact items like the top of a plastic barrel, a traffic cone, jugs, buckets, garbage can lids, bait jars, and styrofoam blocks was hauled out in the park landing craft by park ranger Travis Russell and crew.  

Every day is Earth Day and marine debris is everyone’s problem, so please pack out what you carry in. Please don’t throw garbage overboard, and please remember to reduce, reuse, recycle, and rot! Thanks again to all the cleanup volunteers!

Molly Sturdevant, board memeber Haines Friends of Recycling