With the approach of the annual spring cleanup of Olympic Peninsula beaches stretching from the ocean into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Washington CoastSavers are looking for more volunteers to clean the coastline during the April 19 effort.
“It’s a chance to be a part of something bigger than yourself,” said Jon Schmidt, cleanup coordinator.
“Just please register so we can be prepared for the turnout and have enough barbecue and bags for everyone.”
While the Earth Day cleanup has focused on the ocean coast in past years, the CoastSavers are using a $10,000 grant from the Strait of Juan de Fuca Ecosystem Recovery Network to expand to 13 more beaches along the Strait between Bullman Beach near Neah Bay and Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend.
Volunteers can book a beach by registering at www.coastsavers.org, though Schmidt said Monday beaches by the Dungeness Spit and at Port Williams had already been booked.
More than 1,000 volunteers turned out for last year’s cleanup, and more than 11,000 have collected marine trash since 2000.
The annual event has cleared more than 345 tons of washed up waste from Washington beaches since 2000, including 15 tons from the 2013 cleanup.
Cleanups will also be staged on Pacific Ocean beaches from Cape Flattery to the mouth of the Columbia River, though efforts are more focused on the remote beaches of west Clallam and Jefferson counties.
“The wilderness beaches of the Washington coast are some pretty difficult places to get to, compared to those where you can just drive your pickup out on the beach and cleanup,” Schmidt said.
“It’s kind of like backpacking, but you’re carrying trash instead.”
Low tide for the day on ocean beaches is expected at around 10:23 a.m., with high tide expected around 4:49 p.m.
CoastSavers also organized a cleanup of Washington beaches last September in conjunction for the first time with International Coastal Cleanup day.
A team of about 100 volunteers removed almost two tons of debris, but Schmidt expects that to have little impact on this spring’s cleanup.
“Most of the debris washes up in the winter, so we’re not really expecting it to be much different than previous springs,” Schmidt said.
As in the past couple years, volunteers are being urged to be on the lookout for debris from Japan that may have washed across the ocean as a result of the tsunami brought on in March 2011 by the Tohoku earthquake.
CoastSavers has identified 40 items from the tsunami since then and are asking volunteers to keep a lookout for more, specifically debris that may be carrying invasive species.
“We just want to make sure that our beaches remain as healthy as possible,” Schmidt said.
“And invasive species may come in and want to make our beaches home. We don’t want that.”
Volunteers can pick up bags for the garbage and debris data cards, which CoastSavers uses to track types and places of debris, at check-in points in Port Angeles, Clallam Bay, Hobuck Beach, Lake Ozette, Three Rivers, the Hoh Reservation and Kalaloch Campground.
Volunteers will be rewarded with free food at a number of locations after the cleanup, including:
■ Port Angeles: The Landing mall, noon to
3 p.m.
■ Forks: Kalaloch Campground, Kalaloch Lodge, noon to 3 p.m.
■ LaPush: Three Rivers Fire Station, Surfrider Foundation, noon to 3 p.m.
■ Neah Bay: Hobuck Beach, Surfrider Foundation, noon to 3 p.m.
■ Sekiu: Chito Beach, Lions Club, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
■ Westport: Twin Harbors State Park, Surfrider Foundation, noon to 3 p.m.
■ Ocean Park: Klipsan Beach, Peninsula Senior Center, noon to 1:30 p.m.
Also, volunteers planning to work in the Forks area for the cleanup will have the chance to take in the River and Ocean Film Festival in the Forks High School auditorium from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The film festival is free and open to the public and will showcase films examining relevant environmental issues.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Joe Smillie can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or at jsmillie@peninsuladailynews.com.
