|
Group cleans
polluted Beaver
Creek
By Nate Morabito
2011, a historic
year of severe
weather, has
destroyed lives,
homes, and the
countryside.
Long after the
storms, some of
their remnants
have also
destroyed
Sullivan
County's Beaver
Creek.
The creek has
remained clogged
with downed
trees and debris
for roughly 18
months.
Saturday, a
group of
volunteers did
their part to
begin restoring
the storm.
"Beaver Creek's
a long creek, it
goes way back
into Southwest
Virginia and
whenever there's
a flood, trees
come uprooted
from stream
banks,” Boone
Lake Association
President Russ
Harrison said.
“Eventually,
when this would
finally break
loose, all of
this material
would end up in
Boone Lake
itself, where we
would have to
collect it
piecemeal from
Boone Lake.”
Organized by the
Boone Lake
Association,
Saturday’s
cleanup project
resulted in the
removal of trash
and more than 25
trees from the
creek. In all,
16 volunteers
participated.
The volunteer
effort included
the help of the
City of Bristol,
Stickley Farm,
two private
contractors, and
the Boone
Watershed
Partnership.
"It's a
beautiful stream
and it's got
waterfalls and
all the features
that people move
to East
Tennessee for,
but it's
neglected,”
Boone Watershed
Partnership
President Gary
Barrigar said.
According to
Barrigar, this
is the first
step of an even
larger cleanup
effort. Boone
Watershed
Partnership
recently applied
for a $151,000
federal grant
that if
approved, would
fund a
three-year
restoration
project at
Beaver Creek,
Barrigar said.
|
