Watauga Lake Clean-Up Day A Huge Success


Beautiful weather last Saturday marked the 3rd annual Watauga Lake Cleanup Day that took place at the Butler region of the lake. What began as one families efforts to clean up trash around the lake has now grown into a very successful annual campaign. The first year of the lake clean up , 200 residents pitched in to help, the second year that number grew to 260, and this year promised even more. Mary Salter founder and spokesperson for the event, said they have over 80 sponsors this year to help promote and make the event fun. After the cleanup live music, a picnic as well prizes were awarded to all the hardworking volunteers.
Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency was on hand and also provided a Clean Water Grant to help fund the cleanup efforts. Our Avery news correspondent David Norris was invited to ride with the TWRA Biologist as they rode out to an area and picked up over 30 bags of trash in about 2 hours. The TWRA officers all volunteered their time and drove from across the state of Tennessee to assist in the clean up. Rob Lindbom Habitat Protection Biologist spoke about how dangerous the six-pack container rings were to wildlife he found, and Jerry Strom Dept Head of TWRA said that it takes over a thousand years for some materials to break down and we should all be aware of where our trash goes. Both commented on how much better this section of the lake looked compared to last years clean-up as folks are becoming aware of the importance of keeping the lake clean. Now if you would like to learn more about how you can help with the Watauga Lake Clean Up you can contact Mary at (423-768-0363) or the TWRA at (1-800-332-0900).