A washing machine drum. A grocery store cart. A box spring mattress.
The local Trout Unlimited annual river cleanup seemed to turn up more trash along the Animas River this year, including signs of illegal fishing in the river’s Gold Medal fishery.
The Trout Unlimited Five Rivers Chapter is one of several local groups that do annual river cleanups. This year, the volunteers scoured 8 river miles for litter, from 32nd Street north of downtown Durango to Dallabetta Park south of town. On Saturday, they pulled 15 trash bags of refuse off the shores after three hours of work.
“A lot of other unmentionable, disgusting things. You can imagine,” said Cole Glenn, who volunteered in the river cleanup. “It’s a bummer.”
Animas River cleanup finds signs of illegal fishing, increased trash
About 15 volunteers, including members of the Braided Fly Fishing Club and San Juan Angler, focused on downstream Saturday. Between the Durango Gun Range and Dallabetta Park, they found clothes, sleeping bags, tires, metal, alcohol containers, a laptop ... the list goes on.
The issue of trash along the Animas has been a concern for years. In 2016, a Fort Lewis College student group called the Water Justice Project cleaned 1,286 pounds of litter from the river banks.
Glenn, who has participated in three cleanups, said trash was increasing this year along the entire stretch of river through Durango. As the manager of San Juan Angler, Glenn said customers on guided fishing outings have also noticed the refuse.
“The Animas River is the lifeblood of Durango,” he said. “Obviously, it’s a great fishery, but you have a lot of raft companies, the river trail, families ... You’d like to see a lot less trash.”
While cleaning the downstream portion Saturday, Trout Unlimited volunteers found the remains of camps and litter on the river banks farther from the water.
The volunteers questioned whether the trash could be coming from people who were unhoused and camping in the area, Glenn said.
“It’s a sensitive subject for sure ... I do understand both sides of it,” Glenn said. “We just can’t be out there trashing our town. We have to find a balance in there somewhere.”
Animas River cleanup finds signs of illegal fishing, increased trash
At the designated campsite at Purple Cliffs along La Posta Road, there is a designated camper who picks up litter and is compensated by the Neighbors in Need Alliance, said Tim Sargent, camp leader at the site. Purple Cliffs also has dumpsters available to campers.
Others do camp in the area, and some of the trash could come from them, Sargent said.
“It’s one of my biggest issues, actually, because it reflects bad on everybody,” he said.
The Animas is a Gold Medal fishery for trout between the DoubleTree Hotel in downtown Durango and Dallabetta Park. In that stretch, people are only legally allowed to fish with artificial flies and lures.
Volunteers found cans of worms and power bait – both of which are signs of illegal fishing.
The river has had a tough time in recent years because of ash flow from the 416 Fire and the Gold King Mine spill, Glenn said. The fish population is just beginning to recover as trash seems to increase.
“It’s just not a good scene,” he said. “It’d be nice to see some kind of deeper effort into trash collection.”
Reader Comments