- By Dan Veaner
- Around Town
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Last Saturday (9/17) two groups organized a clean-up at Salt Point. Both the Cayuga Watershed Network and Friends of Salt Point got people to turn out to pick up trash as part of an international beach cleanup initiative. A small group of residents who love the area were determined to make it a better place.
Volunteers found a lot of beer bottles and beer packaging. They also found old tires that people have dumped, clothes, shoes, sandals, and the leavings of parties. Some people have burned used diapers among other things, leaving the remnants of the fires. Broken bottles are a special problem, because they are harder to clean up and impossible to recycle.
 Holly Payne (left) of Cayuga Watershed Network and Pat Pryor of Friends of Salt Point |
Friends of Salt Point is an informal ad-hoc group that comes to the area to clean it up on a fairly regular basis. They are primarily Lansing residents, but some come from Ithaca and elsewhere. About a dozen people participate. "The Friends of Salt Point has existed about a week," says Pat Prior of Ithaca, who organized the cleanup for this group, with a smile. "We have existed for a number of years," she explained, "but we hadn't given ourselves a name."
The group has been in contact with the Town of Lansing about its plans for the area. The Town is about to sign a lease with the State DEC to lease the land. Once this is done a local committee will recommend ways to clean up the area, prevent littering, crime and loud partying, and create what Town Supervisor Stephen Farkas calls "a quiet place."
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The group has been in contact with the Town of Lansing about its plans for the area. The Town is about to sign a lease with the State DEC to lease the land. Once this is done a local committee will recommend ways to clean up the area, prevent littering, crime and loud partying, and create what Town Supervisor Stephen Farkas calls "a quiet place."
"We would love to see an end to the trashing of the place.," says Ms. Pryor. "The thing that really bothers us as responsible users of the area is to see people come in and leave trash and garbage. To an extent their project is going to address that. Plus they're going to do such things as remove non-native invasive species and try to restore the area to a healthier environmental state. I think that's terrific. I would really like to be part of that effort."
Holly Payne was on hand as the organizer from the Cayuga Watershed Network, a not-for-profit organization based in Interlaken that encompasses all the counties and 49 municipalities around the lake and its tributaries. This is the organization's second year at Salt point. It is part of an international effort to clean up ocean and lake beaches. They estimate about 305,000 volunteers around the world. "So it's exciting, because our little effort is tied into the larger picture."
 Holly Payne (left) signs up Dave Heck to help clean the beach |
"This particular beach cleanup on September 17th is actually a part of the 20th annual New York State beach cleanup, Ms. Payne told us. "Every year New York State is averaging around 10,000 volunteers who run down the beaches to clean them up."
The NY State cleanup collects information as well as trash. They track where the debris is coming from in order to better control the problem. The local group will fill out a form and send it to the Ocean Conservancy, an organization that collects and analyzes the data. Some of this information has already been used to control pollution control policies.
Volunteers came to help, because they love the area. Dave Kilts, of Lansing, was one of the people who came to clean up. "I've been here since the International Salt Company was here, so I've been around a long time. I love it down here."
 Dave Kilts finds plenty of trash |
He was here for last year's pickup and picked up around 20 bags. He comes to Salt Point for the solitude. "I love sunsets. Sometimes, like right now, it's peaceful. You can get away from people. It's beautiful down here."
Ms. Pryor comes to walk her dog and enjoy the area two or three times a week. "The more that people realize that there are actually people who care about the area and who are working to clean it up and keep it in a very beautiful, natural state," she says, "I think more people will tend to come out and help us do that."
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