October 17, 2004 in City

Hundreds of volunteers go to river to clean up after others

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Holly Pickett photo

Tamara Wittstruck of Spokane picks up trash along an incline between the Spokane River and High Bridge Park early Saturday morning.
(Full-size photo)

Hundreds of nature lovers met amid a golden canopy of maples Saturday to clean up a neglected landscape that was once a gathering place for the Northwest’s Indian tribes.

More than 400 people joined forces to pick up trash on riverbanks, trails and roads that stretched from under the train trestle by High Bridge Park to Peaceful Valley.

“Last year we had such a great response that we decided to do it again,” said Andy Friedlander, outreach specialist for REI, which sponsored the event for a second year. Participants received T-shirts, food and prizes donated by area businesses.

Before the volunteers fanned out, Bryan Flett, a member of the Spokane Indian Tribe, told the volunteers about the sacred role the land historically played to tribes that came from as far away as Montana to fish together.

Before the need for mass-electricity-generating dams, that portion of the Spokane River near High Bridge boasted one of the area’s largest salmon runs. Native American folklore says the fish were so plentiful that people could cross the river by stepping on their backs.

“A lot of our elders still have a spiritual connection to the land,” explained Flett, who hopes to get more tribal members involved in caring for this sacred land.

He reminded the group of a popular quote that says mankind doesn’t inherit the Earth from ancestors but borrows it from his children’s children.

“I know that I’m preaching to the choir because you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t have this mindset,” said Flett, who later offered a prayer partially spoken in his native Salish language.

Katrina McGinnis and her husband, Mike Wyrsch, brought their kids, ages 7 and 8, to the park. The Mead couple recently moved from California and wanted to teach their children to care for the Earth and their community.

In Sonoma, they used their coffee bar business to help raise money for schools and soccer teams.

Here, they hope to be among those working to improve the quality of life. “I think everybody scratches everybody else’s back,” McGinnis said.

Some marveled at the beauty of the area, which offers incredible river views, yet is just minutes from downtown.

“This gets people out in the environment to appreciate what we have here,” said Julie Neff of Spokane.

Friends of the Falls is working on a plan to develop the area’s recreational potential by possibly adding trails, a kayak park and other offerings.

For now, portions of the riverbank have decayed into a haven for drug users and a campground for transients. Volunteers wore gloves and flagged areas where condoms, syringes and other paraphernalia were found so a team of specialists could remove those dangerous items.

In addition to the garden variety cigarette butts and pop cans that litterbugs hurl out of passing autos, volunteers found weathered wallets, window scrapers, a uniquely rusted gasoline can and other oddities.

Surreal junk, including a large, purple Barney the Dinosaur found floating in the river, was set aside for judging.

“One of the things we do is a competition for the coolest piece of trash that people find,” Friedlander said.

As Olivia Brooks, 14, and her sister Nicola Brooks, 10, diligently picked up shards of glass and other remnants of man’s dirty habits, they expressed revulsion.

“I was surprised that there were syringes and needles. I think it’s really gross,” Olivia Brooks said.

While some were aghast at the piggish behavior, Mel Pederson, a member of Back Country Horsemen of America, wasn’t surprised at all.

As the retired grievance manager who dealt with sanitation at Kaiser Aluminum, he saw some workers throw garbage on the floor while standing steps away from a garbage can.

The litterbugs’ mentality often changes course when their own property is involved, Pederson said. “If you threw it out in their driveways, you’d hear about it.”

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