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.
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!
