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Puerto Rico

The current weather in Culebra

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Trash clean up
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: KC Bess (---.beyondbb.com)
Date:   03-18-07 20:44

We just returned from an amazing trip to Culebra, Thank you everyone over there for the great hospitality and wonderful time. The information from this site was very helpful. Thanks Again.

On another note I had a question about the trash that we saw on a couple of the beaches while we were there. Obviously being an island the beaches get a fair amount of trash washed up on from other places, and we noticed that this had been collected and left in bags on the beaches. We were wondering if this then gets collected by boat or if individuals pack it out or just what exactly the deal was. My reason for bringing this up is that I think that there is a great opportunity for people visiting to take part in this and give something back to such a beautiful place. Even if people were to take a trash bag with them when they head off to one of the less visited beaches (brava for example) and added to the piles for later pick up. I think that there are plenty of people who would help out if they only knew where to go to be a part of the action during the bigger trash clean up days.

Again thank you everyone we meet for a great trip, I hope everyone who is lucky enough to be there appreciates Culebra for what it is and continues to have the non-commercial approach to the island that makes Culebra so great.

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Re: Trash clean up
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Doug (---.aurorasys.com)
Date:   03-19-07 10:44

The bagged trash on Brava was from a clean-up a year ago or longer. One of the agencies was to take it away by boat, I think. Given the volume, it doesn't make sense to try to pack it up the hill on foot. I would love to volunteer for the work party, if an appropriate boat (and skilled pilot) could be made available. I do the same thing in Missouri with "Operation Clean Stream". Sometimes we pull washing machines and tires out of our rivers, believe it or not.

Doug

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Re: Trash clean up
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: KC Bess (---.beyondbb.com)
Date:   03-21-07 10:43

I wish I could go back and help to organize something like you are talking about. I am sure there are many others like you who would like to help out.

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Re: Trash clean up
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: richard (---.washdc.east.verizon.net)
Date:   03-21-07 11:36

wow Doug, I used to do "Clean Stream" on the Meramac river - got my picture on the front of the Post hauling a fridge out on our canoe...

we usu. did a stretch near that dioxin Superfund site, Glen-something

must of been about 1979 or '80

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Re: Trash clean up
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Doug (---.aurorasys.com)
Date:   03-21-07 14:56

Glencoe. Brave man, taking on dioxin! Are you in StL, now?

I have worked most years on the Courtois and Huzzah, tributaries of the Meramec. We usually get 2 "garbage scow' canoe drivers and the rest snorkle downstream and load up the garbage scows. We found a washing machine and most of a Corvair near one of the coolest stretches about 15 years ago. The property owner wouldn't let us take a winch down to the river bank, so they sat until four years ago when he sold it and the new owner was much more reasonable.

We also did an unofficial clean up down on the Black River from Lesterville to Secluded Trails, two years ago. The lady who owned Wilderness Lodge put us up for free, and we made a party out of it. She has since sold and the new owners haven't indicated whether the offer still stands.

On Culebra, people do make an effort, for the most part as evidenced by the bags and cans of trash. Two things need to happen to make that effort work.

1. Instead of dumping trash bags there at the beach, take it back to your hotel and dispose of it there. Regular pick-ups don't happen. Educational process.
2. The DNR needs to organize an Operation Clean Beach, recruit volunteers and support it with boats to take out the trash that very day. It is very rewarding to be able to see the difference you made. Brava and Resaca probably need it once a year. Soldado, Carlos Rosario, Tamarindo, Zoni, and Melones, twice. If those events were held on the first Saturday of the month with emails and posters, etc. announcing the event, we'd have a winner.

Doug

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Re: Trash clean up
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Paco (---.cinci.res.rr.com)
Date:   03-21-07 15:50

I saw a group of volunteers last week at Flamenco picking up garbage. I thought they were organized by the DNR but I am not sure.

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Re: Trash clean up
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: KC Bess (---.beyondbb.com)
Date:   03-21-07 20:19

yeah the group on flamenco was a mission trip, they were doing the clean up and working on one of the churches. I thought that was great. I think there is still room for more help though.
Keep up the great work

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Re: Trash clean up
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: richard (---.washdc.east.verizon.net)
Date:   03-22-07 04:05

Doug - Glencoe - that was it, I haven't lived in STL since '90, but still have family there.

Black River, good float trips, but I still think the Current or Jack's Fork are the best, or maybe the Gasconade. and nothing beats Johnson Shut-ins on an August afternoon. although I like the idea of doing some sort of Michael Palin thing and canoeing the Mississippi.

re trash: it's easy for me to feel smug, jeez I smoke and I put my (extinguished) butts in my pocket or backpack, yeah it makes my fingers smell...

you snorkled in the Courtois??? I joke about setting up snorkle tours of the Anacostia here in DC (waivers and shots required).

but oddly nobody seems to like the idea.

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Re: Trash clean up
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Doug (---.aurorasys.com)
Date:   03-23-07 14:37

I love snorkling clear rivers. I certainly see much bigger fish than I catch! Here's a cool story. Scuba of mild Culebra fame, was snorkling the Black one hot day. There were a bunch of semi-toasted women on the same sandbar as our group. He pops out of the water and says "Watch this" and dives down and comes up with a 4 pound smallmouth in his hands. We were all amazed until I got him to admit that the fish had been caught on a lure that was tangled around a rootwad. He had just gone down grabbed the trapped fish and removed the lure. Catch and release, doncha know.

A couple other float rivers worthy of note - The Eleven Point and the Buffalo in Arkansas. Gorgeous. All are federally protected rivers, like the Current and Jack's Fork. The Black is losing its appeal as more and more property is developed there. Wilderness Lodge and its 1400 acres is now owned by a logger (?!?!?!?)

Doug

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Re: Trash clean up
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: richard (---.washdc.east.verizon.net)
Date:   03-23-07 15:47

god we're going off-topic here...

but Doug, do realize that most of MO is second (or third) growth forest already anyway. my parents live in the middle of frickin' nowhere (between Rolla and Jeff City) and it was pretty much all harvested sometime around 1900. still scrubby. they left some big ones, but now most are around 6" dia. at best and the area is riddled with the evidence of old logging roads.

it is sort of depressing though they'll just go in the pulp mill or the chipper if taken at that size.

nice story about the smallmouth.

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Re: Trash clean up
Culebra, Puerto Rico
Author: Christy Lazerus (---.dhcp.stls.mo.charter.com)
Date:   03-31-07 22:57

I am also from Missouri and seeing allm of our old haunts. we used to canoe every weekend, before kids and soccer. I always took extra bags with us and cleaned up cans and trash all the way down the river.
Just got back from Culebra and the beaches actually looked pretty good. All the trash cans i saw (we were on Flamenco beach) were cleaned out every morning. Still never saw who was doing it, but they were definatly cleaned out every day. As for trash on the beach, I walked every morning and cleaned up any beer cans or misc garbage as I saw it. Lots of college kids on spring break. Need to have a few signs reminding people that if they brought it to the beach they should then carry it off the beach.

Christy

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