Successful April 2011 Clean Up

25 volunteers came out on a sunny Earth Day 2011 and filled a 40 cubic yard dumpster to the top (and had some trash left over). Work earlier in the week from an Ada County Sheriff's Office labor detail gave us a big head start. As is often the case with these clean up events, the majority of the trash we collected was trash and targets left behind by shooters. Thanks to everyone who came out - Blacks Creek Reservoir is a cleaner place thanks to you!

April 23 2011 Clean Up Event

Spring is coming and GEAS is gearing up to make more progress at Blacks Creek Reservoir. 2010 was a great season for the designated Important Bird Area south of Boise. Along with our principal partner, Land Trust of the Treasure Valley, GEAS sponsored two clean-ups on site and secured a $7,000 grant to change the future of this long neglected avian oasis. We intend to keep the momentum rolling in 2011 starting with a clean-up scheduled to coincide with Earth Day 2011. As always, we need your help.

Please join us on Saturday, April 23, and lend a hand for the birds and other native critters that live in the Blacks Creek Reservoir area. This year we have a special incentive. The first 20 people who register and show up at the clean up will get a free T-shirt. On April 23, we’ll meet at the MK Nature Center parking lot (600 Walnut St) at 9 a.m. to set-up carpools to the site. We’ll work on-site until 2 p.m. and then head back into town. Please bring work gloves, work clothes (a warm coat and hat may be necessary), a rake if you have one, and a water bottle. We will supply garbage bags, hand sanitizer, snacks, water, and a port-a-potty. Every year we make Blacks Creek Reservoir a better place and we invite you to be a part of improving our neighborhood for birds and people. So register today and join us at 9 a.m. April 23. If you’d rather, head directly to the site on Kuna-Mora Road between Pleasant Valley Road and I-84. We start on site at 10 a.m.

Another important step in this project was the grant we were awarded from TogetherGreen, a partnership between National Audubon Society and Toyota. The GEAS board and LTTV staff worked hard on a proposal that was highly regarded by the funders. We have additional partners (Bureau of Land Management, Idaho Fish and Game, Ada County Sheriff, Idaho Bird Observatory, Idaho Wildlife Federation, Ada Soil and Water Conservation District, Pleasant Valley Irrigation District, John Kruger, and Hillbilly Rock Club) to thank for writing letters of support. We were awarded $7,000 to write a site management plan and set up baseline photo and vegetation monitoring plots. We are well on our way to achieving these goals and will be submitting additional grant requests in 2011. Of course, we are always looking for new ideas and additional help. Anyone who wants to become more involved in the cleranup or conservation at Blacks Creek Reservoir may contact Sean Finn (a_gentilis (at) hotmail.com) or Pam Conley (pam_conley (at) q.com) anytime between now and April 23.

September 2010 Clean Up

Last weekend's Black's Creek clean up event was, as measured in trash collected, a big success. Building on the head start of an Ada County Sheriff's Office labor detail, a small group of volunteers was able to fill an entire dumpster on a single Saturday morning.

Gathering the trash...


The dumpster arrives...


The volunteer crew...

Sixth Black's Creek Cleanup

DATE: Saturday, September 18, 2010

TIME: 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

MEET AT: MK Nature Center, 601 S. Walnut, Boise, ID 83712

We will form car pools at the MK Nature Center parking lot and head out to Blacks Creek Reservoir, which is located 10 miles east of Boise, south of the freeway, off Blacks Creek Road.

BRING: Gloves, water bottle, rake, and dress for the weather.

PROVIDED: We will provide water, snacks, garbage bags, porta potties, and dumpsters.

This will be our sixth cleanup of Blacks Creek Reservoir, that potential jewel and Important Bird Area that lies just 10 miles southeast of Boise. Blacks Creek Reservoir provides critical habitat for many birds whether they are just stopping by on their way north or south or for those that live in the area year round. We have three informational signs in the area that let folks know something about the habitat and what kinds of activities are inappropriate. At our last cleanup in April we didn’t see a lot of new garbage so maybe our work is making a difference but there is still a lot of old garbage to remove. We are hoping we can count on you to help us out to continue our goal of getting this jewel to sparkle.

April 24th, 2010 clean up

On Saturday, April 24th around 50 volunteers gathered at Black's Creek for the annual spring clean up. The event was organized by the Golden Eagle Audubon Society, with incredible help from several local off-road clubs including Idaho Off-road 4 x 4 Club, Hillbilly Rock Crew, High Desert Off Road, and Wild West Off Roaders, all members of the Idaho State 4x4 Association. We picked up 3 large dumpsters worth of trash and left the site much cleaner. If you're out there using the site, please tread lightly and clean up after yourself! Most of what we picked up were targets from shooters. If you want a nice place to site your gun, we recommend the Black's Creek Public Shooting Range run by Idaho Fish and Game just a mile west from the reservoir.

The Audubon Society's interest in the site stems from the fact that the shallow mud flats around the reservoir are important and locally rare habitats for wading and shore birds, particularly during spring and fall migration.

Some photos of the clean up follow

April 24th, 2010 clean up pictures

The final pile

Big trucks and hefty trailers - keys to picking up a lot of trash

Starting to look better

Before....

And after.

The trash piled up.

A happy volunteer with the trash he collected.

Members of the Hillbilly Rock Crew getting rid of some drywall that was illegally dumped at the site.

Shooting accident at Blacks Creek

From the Idaho Statesman, a reminder of the appeal of the formal Blacks Creek Public Range down the road and the safety reminders of the range officer:

Deputies say they expect to file no charges against a 15-year-old who was shooting with his 43-year-old father when the accident occured.
The Ada County Sheriff’s Office said the teen said he was walking and tripped, accidentally discharging the .22-cailber pistol and hitting his dad in the stomach. The two were target shooting in an open area near Blacks Creek Road, east of Boise off Interstate 84. A bystander called 911 about 4:40 p.m. Saturday.
The father was airlifted to St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center. The injury did not appear to be life-threatening, the sheriff's office said.
The sheriff’s office did not release the names of the son or the dad. Deputies are investigating, but said the evidence points to an accident.

Blacks Creek mudbogging out of control

Some photos of the consequences of out of control mudbogging at Blacks Creek: