Dead Fish Cleanup at Salton Sea: Call for Volunteers for Nov. 3 Event
SALTON SEA - What could be more fun on a Saturday morning than to help clean up
dead fish at the Salton Sea?
Well, it might be more fun than you think—and it’s certainly one of those “must do” things
that leaves volunteers with a sense of accomplishment.
The second bi-annual clean-up features a continental breakfast at 6 a.m. at the West Shores
Senior Center on state Route 22, about one mile west of Expressway 86. That’s just into Imperial
County, and while you might be asking yourself “Why an Imperial County story on a Riverside County
Fourth District website?” the regional implications of what goes on at the Salton Sea pretty much
give you the answer.
This is a community spirit type event, involving friends and neighbors of the Salton Sea, and
volunteers are expected from at least the two-county area around Sea. Team assignments will be
delivered and the teams will head for their designated locations at around 7 a.m. Planned cleanups
are the shorelines at Salton Beach & Marina, Desert Shores, Johnson’s Landing, Freebie Point,
Dry Camp & Nature Trail and Salton Sea State Park.
The lunch whistle will blow at 12 noon, and volunteers will be directed back to the senior
center for a fish fry. No, seriously, for a wonderful lunch provided by the Fish Clean-up Task
Force, created by the Salton Sea Authority after the massive fish die-off at Varner Harbor in
August, 2006.
The Task Force has received numerous donations and 150 volunteers and counting. The first
cleanup was in March 2007.
"Our first event, we had 50 volunteers, so we have already tripled the amount of people
willing to help improve the shorelines of the Sea," said Dan Cain, principal development specialist
for the Salton Sea Authority.
"That event was a lot of fun, and everyone still talks about the great lunch the task force
women provided."
Cain says they can still use volunteers, trucks, shovels, rakes, gloves, ATV’s, trailers,
etc. for the event. The last planning meeting for the cleanup was scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 16,
at 10 a.m. at the West Shores Chamber of Commerce.
The Task Force would like to hear from more volunteers. If you’d like to help out, call (760)
564-4888, so that they can keep track of the amount of tools and food which will be needed.
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