Island Trash Pickup

Jason, our stalwart air-boat captain and guide, provided a memorable sendoff for Charlie and Carolyn yesterday. Charlie and Carolyn are extraordinary litter gatherers, having accumulated 185 bags from the woods and waters on the Dixie side of the refuge in the few months they have been here so it seemed fitting to do one last cleanup.

Five of us headed off in perfect weather, there was just enough breeze to keep the sand gnats away- most of the time. The target islands were Big Pine and Little Pine near Shired Island. These two sandy islands get lots of stopovers and camping so I expected more trash than we found.

In about 3 hours we gathered 90 lbs. The picture of the trash pile in the parking lot is only from Little Pine where we found 2 mattresses in addition to many rolls of plastic air cells. Maybe next time the campers will pack it out?

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