Joey, I'm not sure if you are talking to Allen or me. If you are talking to me, show up at my house at 8ish. E-mail me for my home address (geogal at gmail dot com). If the raft (and plywood, paddles, etc) doesn't take up too much room, I might be able to squeeze another person in.

Bethany

Sorry Bethany, Yes, I meant with you. I will see you then. I will also send you a message here shortly for your address, Thanks, J

Joey Calder

In respoonse to some messages that I have received, I just wanted to let everyone know that the cleanup is still a GO. With the erratic nature of summer storms, we will just have to play this one by ear.

Allen

Cool beans! I thought so. I will see you in an hour and a half or so. Need anything else? Chainsaw etc?
Brent

Allen, thank you so much for organizing this excellent project. It's something I've wanted to see done for a long, long time.

To all involved, thank you so much also! It was great to see everyone pitching in to help.

Anyone who has pictures from either phase of the project: I would appreciate if you would send them to me. I'm putting together a presentation about the project.

Thanks!

todd

Allen:
You are my hero! Not only was this great fun to get together with our fellow boaters but rewarding as hell to get all that crap hauled out. You have done the best job I have ever seen in all my years with the BWA as Conservation Officer. You are a "get er done" brother and I thank you for the fabulous job you have done all year long. You know how to make executive decisions. I am so thrilled you are running for VP. You are a good man and I look forward to helping you any way I can this next year.
Brent

Hope and Optimism

Several years ago I visited a plantation in the Charleston, SC area. The approach to the mansion was lined with dozens of massive southern oak trees. The approach was so beautiful that it is hard to find words to describe it. The trees were lined so perfectly that it was obvious the planner of the estate had taken great pains to ensure that one day people would look to this effort with a sense of awe and appreciation.

The planner of this estate had to plant these tree seedlings with a sense of hope and optimism. Hope for the future, optimistic that one day these seedlings would indeed grow and fulfill his dream. He planted them knowing that he would not get to see the fruits of his efforts, realizing his energies were for those who would follow him in the distant future. It was for the future generations to indeed see his intent, a gift for those he would never know.

What was his name? I don’t remember. I do remember however, how beautiful his design was and the memory of that day I spent at the plantation has not faded though it was almost twenty years ago. I admire the man who gave this gift, knowing that at least two hundred years had to pass before the full effect of his plan presented itself.

For years the BWA has paddled the lower Elkhorn Creek, two miles of stunning water to enjoy on the way to the AW takeout. As the water takes you by the hillsides, there is one spot that was an eyesore due to years of dumping old appliances, water heaters, car doors, etc. The mindset of years ago was to throw unwanted items over the hill and let the creek wash it away. Simply put: out of sight, out of mind.

For years a discussion has been that something should be done about this. It was not until recently that the conservation officer for the Bluegrass Wildwater Association (BWA) got folks together to clean this area up.

With permission and blessings from the local landowners, the BWA was able to clear the area, ridding the hillside of the eyesore created by previous generations. Names of those participating are not important, their love and caring for the creek is. All represented the BWA. What was done was to help nature heal and restore a beautiful landscape and minimize the abuse created by the thoughtless acts of the past. The operation was a success as there is little if any sign that anything or anybody was ever there.

For those that were involved, thank you. Thank you for the gift to the Elkhorn Creek and those who love and cherish its wonders. Thank you for removing the eyesore that tended to spoil a beautiful section of that wonderful little waterway. And like the planter of trees in the past, thank you for your sense of hope and optimism for the future and the giving this gift for those who will indeed follow us. It is our hope that the generations of people who come after us, people we will never know, will paddle this stretch of Elkhorn Creek. We are optimistic they will enjoy the beauty and tranquility of this stream as we do today with a keen awareness that a wonderful gift was passed down in a small way from us to them.

Respectfully submitted,

Dallas Hargis


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Dallas

Yes! Hip Hip Hooray Allen! You did a terrific job organizing this event. It was wonderful to get of that stuff out of there. Kudos to everyone. It was a very rewarding experience indeed.

Bethany

Thanks for the words of encouragement. However, this cleanup has been so much fun that I hardly considered this work at all. I humbly accept your kind words but the thanks goes out to all of my fellow BWAers who gave up a beautiful Saturday afternoon to come and help clean up all of the trash that has long littered the banks of this section of the Elkhorn. It was great to have everyone out working together and I think I can speak for everyone in saying that we had great time.

By my estimate, we hauled out about 1.5 tons of scrap metal. The exact figure will be known on Tuesday when Kyle Meserve hauls the remaining metal to the recycling center. We have a contest going for all who participated in the cleanup to guess the exact weight. The winner receives a pair of hand paddles (courtesy of Dallas Hargis) and a NPFF t-shirt (courtesy of Mr. NPFF Todd Garland).

Clay, email me your and Lauren's guesses.

While this year has had its ups and downs, the success of the NPFF, the Red River Cleanup, and the Elkhorn Cleanup shows what a great group of people that are the BWA. Events like these show what we can accomplish when we set our differences aside and put our collective skills and energies together.

Everyone deserves a big hand for all of their hard work. I have to give a huge thank you to Kyle Meserve for donating not only his time but the use of his truck and trailer. This made the job go so much smoother. Another big thank you goes to Fred and Debbie Coates for the use of their truck. It is not often you see a Ford in the middle of Elkorn Creek....we have the photos to prove it. They also provided us with a great lunch. Thanks to Heather and Lauren for taking care of the photos. (Todd, I will bring them to the SC meeting.)

Below are the volunteers who helped make Phase II of the cleanup a huge success:

Kyle Meserve, Fred and Debbie Coates, Brandon Jett, Todd Garland, Bethany Overfield, Heather Warman, Dot Edwards, Joey Calder, Clay Warren and Lauren, Dave Margavage, Zach May, Dallas Hargis, John Mello, Russell Hampton, and BWA President Brent Austin.

It is my hope that the Elkhorn Cleanup will be a constant fixture on the BWA calendar. Every year, the high water that forms all of the waves and holes that we all enjoy also brings down trash and deposits it on the banks of the Elkhorn. We only scratched the surface with this year's cleanup. For everyone who participated, the next time you paddle past this area I want you to smile and know that you did something good for this planet. You made a difference! The world is a little better place today than it was yesterday because of what you did. Let's all continue to be good stewards for this place we call home. So the next time your friendly BWA Conservation Officer asks for volunteers, please sign up and I promise you that after the work is done you will walk away feeling rewarded.

Thanks to all for letting me be a part of this!

Allen



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 06/01/2008 11:23PM by eakirkwood.

Beautiful writeup Dallas! Thanks for posting the pictures too. Thanks for making this happen Allen and encouraging me along to participate. I had lost touch with what volunteering felt like and this experience was energizing.