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.