Registration continues for the annual Olympic Coast Cleanup on April 26.
Hundreds of volunteers will work to remove marine debris from ecologically sensitive beaches from Neah Bay to Long Beach.
Plastic water bottles, fishing nets, tires and all kinds of other items harmful to the environment wash up on Washington’s beaches all year and need to be removed before they cause damage to marine mammals, fish, plants and birds.
Last year, more than 800 volunteers removed more than 25 tons of debris.
The Olympic Coast Cleanup annual event is now part of a year-round endeavor called CoastSavers, coordinated by the Washington Clean Coast Alliance, a new partnership of nonprofit groups, citizen volunteers and government agencies.
Members of CoastSavers will hold a public meeting in Port Angeles next week in preparation for the April 26 cleanup.
Representatives from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Debris Program and Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary will discuss sources and threats of marine debris in the Pacific Ocean.
The meeting will be held in the Olympic National Park Visitor Center, 3002 Mount Angeles Road, Port Angeles, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
You can sign up for this year’s cleanup event at www.WashingtonCoastCleanup.org.
For information about the event, contact program coordinator David Lindau at davidl@coastsavers.org or phone 206-220-4279.
To find out more about the organization, click on www.coastsavers.org.
