Marine
Debris Project Needs Volunteers
Posted:
6/2/06
Volunteers
are needed in Calcasieu and Cameron parishes for the Marine
Debris Marking and Mapping Project on Calcasieu Lake, Moss
Lake and West Cove from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. Saturday, June
24.
Hurricane
Rita scattered residential, industrial and vegetative debris
throughout the estuary system, creating a hazard for recreational
and commercial boaters, as well as their vessels and gear.
In an attempt to make the lake safer, the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Coast Survey,
Louisiana Sea Grant College Program (Louisiana Sea Grant),
Coastal Conservation Association (CCA), Lake Charles Power
Squadron, LSU AgCenter, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and
Fisheries and the Lake Charles Pilots have teamed up to locate
and mark as much of this marine debris as possible.
Volunteers
will be provided with maps and markers and will travel in
their own boats to assigned areas of the lake to make visual
surveys. They will mark floating debris with buoys, and submerged
debris will be marked with PVC pipe. Volunteers will remove
any small debris they can safely bring to shore and will be
asked to write down the location of any remaining large debris
they encounter. This information will be used for mapping
and for future cleanup efforts.
Marked
positions will be posted on the Coast Pilot Disaster Impact
Web site, http://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/nsd/cpgulf/cpgulf.htm,
and on the Louisiana Sea Grant Web site, www.laseagrant.org/debris.
Additionally, lake users are asked to visit the Louisiana
Sea Grant site to report the location of any dangerous marine
debris they have encountered.
Registered
volunteers will be treated to lunch and drinks. Volunteers
are asked to meet at 8 a.m. at Calcasieu Point Landing, 3955
Henry Pugh Blvd., Lake Charles, to register and pick up supplies.
This
effort is made possible with involvement of NOAA's Office
of Coast Survey with the funding and support of NOAA's Marine
Debris Program, which is part of the NOAA Office of Response
and Restoration (National Ocean Service). The NOAA Marine
Debris Program works with other NOAA offices and partners
to support national, state, local and international efforts
to protect and conserve our nation’s natural resources
and coastal waterways from the impacts of marine debris.
For more
information, contact Tim Osborn, Tim.Osborn@noaa.gov,
(337) 291-2111; Kevin Savoie, KSavoie@agcenter.lsu.edu,
(337) 475-8812; or Justin Farrell, jfarrell@lsu.edu;
or visit www.laseagrant.org/debris.
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