Two ACE members, Lexy and Joelle, embarked on an ambitious 40+ week coastal restoration initiative in partnership with the National Park Service. Through this project, the ACE EPIC interns led local volunteer teams to clear ecologically damaging trash and debris such as plastics from vulnerable public coastlines. Their work spanned iconic national parks in Hawaii, Alaska, California, Oregon, and Washington.
They are chronicling their journey and shared this blog post update:
From ACE EPIC Members Joelle Marchiani and Lexy Philley:
Now at the halfway point in the season, we’ve already covered several parks across the west coast, from the remote southeastern coastline of Katmai in Alaska, to the tide pools in Southern California’s Cabrillo National Monument. Each park brings with it its own unique challenges in the form of variable beach access and ease of removal, beach topography, prominent type of debris, and public access.
Unsurprisingly, the less accessible the park, the greater evidence of debris was present. The urban, populated beaches along the northwestern Oregon coast of Astoria and Seaside were sparsely decorated with marine debris but instead littered with beachgoer food wrappers and alcohol beverage containers.
In remote Ozette, along the Olympic National Park coast, access is only possible via hiking long distances, and marine debris, mostly from commercial fisheries and container spills, is prevalent. Additionally, flat, sandy beaches like many along the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) in Santa Monica, California retain very little marine debris, while its few rocky beaches with steeper slopes and driftwood piles accumulate, including several lobster “YotPot†traps, that weighed between 40-70 lbs each.
Since the beginning of the season in early May, we’ve built up the strength and stamina needed to carry out increasingly heavier loads of marine debris. Where there is easy or close access to our vehicle, we will carry trash bags to fill and carry, or at times, placing large items directly into the bed of our truck. In Ozette, we utilized rustic hunting frame packs outfitted with large baskets to fill with heavy items to carry long distances. We’ve experimented with the size and strength of trash bags, the large (55-60 gal) contractor trash bags have suited our work best.
Stretchy, flexible bags may seem like a good idea at first, but debris is frequently fouled with sharp barnacles, or are fragmented and easily pierce through thinner bags. So too, we have similarly tested different tools for cutting rope/line.
In Biscayne National Park, technicians use shear scissors with one serrated side to cut and free tangled rope/line. In Alaska, fishermen use Victorinox paring knives. While both are quick and efficient, the Victorinox knives are smaller and lighter, making them easier to carry around, and prevent hand cramping/fatigue that repeated scissor use causes.
The drawback is having these knives sharpened, as cutting through sand and on rocks, where much of the fishing rope/line is caught, dulls the metal more quickly. Attempted use of a sawzall was unsuccessful at cutting rope, the teeth of the blade were too wide and twisted rope too unyielding.
Vibe Check:
Spirits? High
Hauling abilities? Trash porters
Skills? Honed
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