The South Dakota Canoe/Kayak Association has taken on the
responsibility of cleaning up the wetlands at the canoe launching point along
the Big Sioux River near the intersection of 26th Street and
Southeastern Drive in Sioux Falls.
This means that at least twice a year SDCKA members gather to collect
trash throughout this area for removal by the city.
This evening six of us met in the parking lot at the launch
site for our clean-up of the area.
We did a very thorough job last fall, and there was considerably less
trash for us to gather this time.
We roamed through the bush and tall grass and along the
riverbank with our plastic bags and “grabbers” or pointed sticks.
While we were there a kayak and canoe arrived from upstream
around 57th Street and reported little debris in the stream,
although they also said that one of the boats got hung up on the rocks but did
not tip over in the rapids under the bridge over the bicycle trail.
So, this evening was one of the several public services
performed by the SDCKA each year: the paddling fair, river clean-up, the
wetlands clean-up, and water sampling from area lakes and streams.
It was also a time to laugh it up with paddling companions
and plan new trips for the coming days.
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