Making Man's Litter Disappear
By Rich McDrew, Trash Removal Project Committee member
Mount Diablo Review - Fall 2001

A new Mt Diablo State Park beautification initiative started this spring. The goal is to systematically remove all trash from the Park. Most of this trash falls into four categories: barbed-wire fencing, water pipes/troughs, old dump sites and abandoned vehicles from the past.

A volunteer "Trash Removal Project " committee has been formed to help administer this effort. The Chair of the Committee is retired MDSP Ranger Burt Bogardus. The committee formulated the following as a guiding principle:

The Mission of the trash removal project is to remove from Mt Diablo State Park (MDSP) worthless and discarded non-indigenous material or objects that detract from the natural beauty of management of the park.

An exception would be material or objects that have a historical or cultural significance as determined by MDSP officials.

The project is under the auspices of park management. A park official is a member of the committee and must approve all trash removal projects. This trash will be taken to an authorized recycler.

The project is expected to run for at least 10 years. Volunteer workers are invited to help. [Visit our Photo Gallery]   Additionally, this would be a great opportunity for civic organizations to get involved. The trash removed will return certain areas of the park to a more natural setting, make it more visually pleasing and remove public and wildlife hazards. Those desiring to volunteer should telephone Burt Bogardus at (925) 820-2347 or write to the TRP Committee at PO Box 293, Danville, CA 94526-0293.

Please note that all MDSP volunteers must take an interesting and informative half-day orientation course (specifically, the "Volunteers in Parks Program" Phase 1 course) before beginning work, or be with someone who has been so trained). The course is usually offered by MDSP bi-monthly on the second Saturday – call (925) 837-5245 for more information).

If park visitors observe trash locations that may qualify for removal, they should note the spot and type of trash and notify the Committee.

The TRP Committee is appreciative of the generosity of Davis Wire of Pueblo, CO. and Artistic Fence of Reno, NV. which donated spindles for rolling-up old barbed wire.

Perhaps the Nobel-prize winning novelist John Steinbeck had Mt Diablo in mind when he said: "The trash and litter of nature disappears into the ground with the passing of each year, but Man’s litter has more permanence." Our goal is to ensure that "Man’s litter" disappears from Mt Diablo State Park.

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MOUNT DIABLO INTERPRETIVE ASSOCIATION
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