Date/Time
Date(s) - 05/12/2018
12:00 pm - 4:00 pm
GC Code: GC7JJYJ
Categories
For decades, a number of old dump sites languished at various tipping points along the lower edge of the Escarpment in High Cliff, rusting away of their own accord over an imperceptibly slow timeline. These mangled mazes of metal are exceptionally dangerous to wildlife and park visitors who occasionally venture here and have no place in this wonderful State Park, even if they are off the beaten path.
This is precisely why we began chipping away at these heavy metal hangouts in the spring of 2015. We made a pretty good dent the first year when we extracted what we thought was the loin’s share of the debris in several massive maple boiling basins, but couldn’t get to the car husk. We tackled that bugger, and a thousand pounds of oxidized debris that surrounded it, during our return visit for the spring 2016CITO which saw most of our attention focussed on that massive southwest dump site. I’m quite sure there’s still some stuff left over there…
As they say, the third time’s a charm. Prior participants know just how rewarding, and exhausting, the experience is! We’ll once again hump out whatever we can carry from the lower bluff face where this stuff was dumped, going up and over the top. Like last year, we’ll caution tape collection points, as established by the Head of Park Maintenance, and if time permits, once again move our collection to the Maintenance staging area. Just like previous years, participants will earn an Earth Day CITO badge and this will likely be your last Heavy Metal CITO opportunity in High Cliff .
Debris Map
To facilitate a more complete collection, I have created a detailed debris map that can be viewed by clicking the link above. The map has been modified to reflect last years efforts, and I can confirm on recent visits to the Monsters of Rock finals, most of this stuff is still out there. I will update the map once more before the event for accuracy. Many of the points are barbed wire spools and fencing coils which we have been eager to tackle for at least a decade, so pay attention to the PPE statement!
Personal Protective Equipment
I highly recommended that each participant wear PPE during the extraction, including steel-toed boots, heavy leather gloves and orange safety vests. I will supply some leather gloves, wire nips and metal sheers. A safety briefing will be given and waiver forms will be signed and collected before we get started. This year I would really like some coordination of participants as we are going to be quite spread out. A few well-organized teams with team leaders on walkies will help us successfully and finally tackle this expanse of debris.
Schedule
12:00pm-12:30pmSign-in, Waiver Forms (if you did not register with FWWA) and Teams Assignment at upper Pavilion.
12:30am-3:00pm Metal Extraction and transport to staging area at Maintenance Shed.
3:00pm-4:00pm Late Lunch, Debrief, Door Prizes and Strangest Find Award at upper Pavilion.
Teams should be aware that much of the lower terrain is treacherous in spots and must be very alert and agile in the process of moving along the lower embankment. Extraction teams should be careful not to disturb the landscape any more than minimally necessary to remove metal. Permission to conduct this extraction has been given and coordinated by Linda Guelig, Park Superintendent of High Cliff State Park
UPDATES:
2018 Fox-Wolf Watershed Cleanup. As part of the annual effort to clean up the Fox River, we’re inviting you to once again register with the FWWA-2018 Cleanup when you submit your “will attend” note. I have created a specific Team for this called Heavy Metal CITOcachers. Just click the link to register with the team, (password “trifecta”) then select the number of attendees and location you wish to clean. Follow the procedures to fill out the on-line waiver and registration. This waiver will also satisfy our waiver requirement.
Dual CITO Participation. If you plan to attend the 12th Annual Appleton Parks & Fox River CITO (not yet published) in the morning, I would encourage you to register for any the following sites with FWWA. A number of parks we usually clean for that CITO will be covered by FWWA efforts so we can spread out beyond Appleton, where they need some additional help. This will get you close to High Cliff for an easy transition from one CITO to the next;
This CITO event is proudly sponsored by
