Last September 9th, the Anglers of the Au Sable held
its seventh annual clean-up of the Au Sable River. Over 200 members of the
organization, as well as local Grayling-area citizens and other groups,
helped in the effort. Started in 1995—only 55 volunteers participated—this
year’s clean-up covered all three branches of the Au Sable, including the
main branch from Burton’s Landing to Wakeley Bridge, the South Branch (Chase
Bridge to the Oxbow Club below Smith Bridge), and an eight mile stretch of the
North Branch. Enough trash was collected from the river’s banks and log
jams to fill a commercial dumpster.
Workers
(group photo at left) dispersed to pre-assigned sections of the river’s
three branches, where they waded for several miles downstream collecting debris—cans,
bottles, shoes and other litter—and depositing them in potato sacks. The
filled sacks were left on log jams to be picked up by a cadre of riverboats
and canoes floating down later in the day.
The clean-up was a great way to give something back
to the river. The river sees a lot of use throughout the summer months from
canoeists, tubers and fishermen. Debris from overturned watercraft and careless
people is inevitable. Giving the river a cleaning is one way to restore the
pristine beauty of this precious resource. Further, the clean-up project gets
people together on the river for a little socializing.
The Anglers were assisted in the clean-up, by several other fishing groups, including the George Mason Chapter of Trout Unlimited, and the Mershon Chapter of TU. The turnout was so overwhelming that additional people who had volunteered were kindly turned away. The stretches planned to wade were more than adequately covered.
The Anglers would like to thank Local
Color brewery of Novi, Michigan for their kind donation of refreshments;
and Glen’s Market (news...)
for their donation of deli food and soft drinks for the clean-up crews.
Above: Gary Fox (at grill)
heads the Clean-Up 2000
Kitchen Crew as they prepare for 200+ hungry volunteers.
(Photo: Don Sawyer)
© Copyright 2001, Anglers of the Au Sable, Inc. All rights reserved. Last modified November 28, 2001