Buffalo Clean up Wednesday May 16

[Richard]

River clean up will be Wednesday, May 16th and we can use your help! Volunteers need to meet at the Tyler Bend Pavilion parking lot at 9 a m. Bring water and a lunch, wear river shoes and clothes that can get wet. A hat, sunglasses and sunscreen are also a good idea and a dry bag for valuables. Contact Laura Timby at ldtimby@ritternet.com or 870-439-2968 if you would like to help with our first clean up effort. She will coordinate getting boats and shuttles.

[Louiscov]

Richard:

I will be there for the clean up!! 6 - 7 of us from the Ozark Society's Bayou Chapter will be base camping at Tyler Bend and floating mid-river sections May 14 - 18. Should have 4 - 5 boats. I'll contact the Timby's.

Hope to see ya

[Richard]

Hi Louis, I will be there for the clean up also. I would also like to show yall the monument we found last fall. See you there :)

[Eric Esche]

I plan on going over on Tuesday night and camping out and maybe coming home on Thursday after camping out Wednesday night. If anyone wants to ride over and camp out with me from the NW Arkansas area, or go tandem with me on the water, give me a shout or PM before then. Otherwise I will plan on paddling solo open canoe

Eric Esche

[Clif]

Wed is ??? with work and school still happenin.

[Eric Esche]

Talked with Laura Timby just before noon and she said she had 24 folks who said they were coming and that they plan to put on at Baker's Ford as the livery folks are still putting folks in there.

I'm headed out the door and should be at Tyler Bend later tonight after a detour to pick up a boat for restoration.

St. Joe gauge 3.71 feet 34 CFS!!!
Harriet gauge 2.95 feet 295 CFS

I think that I will have to do some walking and dragging tomorrow in places.

Eric Esche

[Eric Esche]

VERY thorough and productive clean up of the Baker's Ford to Tyler Bend section of the Buffalo River. I got the feeling that I was the only one there not a member of the Ozark Society or an Arkansas Master Naturalist, but this was a very hard working group of volunteers and one that we seriously ought to recruit for joint efforts on other clean ups. Most were of an age to be retired, but several had taken a days vacation from their jobs to do the cleanup. They were dedicated about doing what they came to do, and not just folks who wanted a free canoe trip. None of them had any problems handling the canoes in the shallow water, either tandem or solo.

Other than an aluminum culvert (12"x12' ??) just down from Bakers Ford in the first pool on the right, that was pinned by a large tree trunk that would have required a chainsaw, come-a-longs, or z-drag kit to extract it, the group got everything that was spotted, and they walked nearly half the banks scouring all the gravelbars and scrub bushes looking for stuff up higher. I felt guilty for not getting out and walking more of the banks, but I think I did my share of that in places. I did get all of the cans on the bottom that I spotted with my net, but they brought diving masks and swam for stuff out of my reach, like a fishing pole with reel. (NOTE TO SELF - Bring mask, snorkle, and fins next time, particularly if it is sunny and hot enough to enjoy swimming).

A big thank you ought to go out to Silver Hill Canoes for cheerfully helping out with the loan of the canoes, gear, and shuttle for this clean up. They showed up early, waited on the group to get organized, brought extra gear just in case we had more volunteers, did not rush anyone, and worked hard unloading all the canoes and gear at Baker Ford, staying until we were all away. It is nice when you get the feeling that the livery company would have gone with you if they could have to help out even more on the clean up.

Oddity finds of the clean up - 18 long stemmed pale yellow roses, found one and two at a time over first 4 miles. We soon had a bouquet in a few canoes up front. We guessed they were probably from a wedding, scattering of ashes, or memorial service or possibly even Mother's day. Cool water of the river helped keep them fresh, but they were on their last day, so we brought them out, but they were enjoyed and helped brighten the day.

Laura and her tandem partner stopped to retrieve a long piece of 2"X6" lumber that I was going to ignore and leave for future firewood. It turned out to have a fine black and white metal water level gauge attached to it going from 3.36 to 10.12 feet. Larger numbers easily readable for the tenths of a foot, the finer readings every 0.02 feet would be readable close up or with binoculars. Great find.
NOTE - I SAVED IT IN CASE WE HAVE A CREEK SOMEWHERE THAT NEEDS A VISUAL GAUGE MOUNTED AND WILL LET OTHERS DECIDE WHERE/HOW.

The group also hauled out a large hinged on posted and crossbars red and white "Bakers Ford Next Left" sign that had washed down stream.

The group brought out 4 tires, a very falling apart sleeping bag, enough plastic to fill two of the NPS waste containers, 1/3 bag of broken glass, 3 bags of COMPRESSED aluminum cans, a heavy section of wide metal channel, and a heavily rusted mass of some type of metal gearing, And all of the mesh bags used on the clean up were emptied and then folded back up for reuse on the next clean up.

I have paddled with several of the folks from the Arkansas Master Naturalists on one or two past clean ups and/or on Ozark Society floats and they are all very nice folks to both paddle and work with. I hope that the Arkansas Canoe Club has a better showing of members to work with them on the next clean up in June, but I will not be able to go on that clean up as I will only be a week out of June 12th surgery for my rotator cuff.

Laura Timby said that the Wednesday dates for these two clean ups were chosen mainly by default as all the weekend dates were already filled up by other activities or events for the groups that participate and it was better for the livery donating the canoes, paddles, pfds, and shuttle than a weekend would have been.

Considering the number of hard working volunteers we got and the quality of their efforts, I'd say the clean up was another very sucessful one by the Friends of the Buffalo National River in partnership with the Buffalo River National Park Service rangers, The Arkansas Master Naturalists, The Ozark Society, and the Arkansas Canoe Club. If I left out any other groups represented, I apologise. See Laura Timby for an accurate listing.

Eric Esche