April 19, 2005, Paddling The Quarry Lakes, The White Oak River runs through them.
The participants are: Jim Stevens and Tom Fineco of New Bern, Al Morris of Smyrna, Cal Hansen of Cedar Island, Brian Leavy of Pine Knoll Shores and Elmer Eddy of Swansboro.
These pictures tell the story, both good and bad, of our attempted cleanup of the Quarry Lakes at Belgrade-Maysville, NC. There are 9 lakes which the White River runs through. Lake # 3 is also accessible but has only one entrance. Two more lakes are not connected to the river except through under ground unknown means.
These lakes are unique and marvelous and beautiful. They provide scenery available only to those who boat here and constitute relatively unkown jewels for all to enjoy. They are deep and clean and lovely except for the man made litter deliberately discarded somewhere which ends up here. It lines the lake’s shorelines where it is left at high water levels. The rest sinks in the lakes or is flushed down the White Oak River.
Unfortunately the very worst point source of trash on the entire White Oak River Watershed exists here. We have not found it yet but we are getting close and have narrowed it down to a creek that flows into Lake # 2 at the extreme northeast corner.
From old maps we see that this creek formerly flowed into the land locked lakes. It now apparently is channeled to flow into lake #2. That is where we picked up 80% of the pictured trash including the balls and pails, and the swimming pool and The Daily News newspaper box. (see USGA map 1 km SE of Maysville, NC 7/1/1994)
What we picked up was right at the mouth of this creek. We could look up stream and see volumes of trash along both shores. It is not accessible to us in our canoes a kayaks.
New Paddle, Frday, April 22, 2005
On this Friday April 22nd we will return to the White Oak River and put in at The White Oak Family Camp Ground at Highway 17 and paddle down to Haywood Landing. We will meet at 9:00 for those who can leave their cars at Haywood for the shuttle. (please e-mail if you can do this). The rest will meet at the camp ground at 9:30.
We will paddle quickly through the lakes picking up only what we missed along the western shore lines. We will not stop and get out of our boats as we will never get to Haywood Landing if we do. We anticipate getting there at three.
We now ask the citizens of Maysville to find and pinpoint the source of this trash and to use every means possible to get it stopped. We also ask the authorities of Maysville and Jones County to do all they can to stop this dumping ot trash in our White Oak River Watershed.
Jones County and NCDENR financed a Grant to clear a navigable channel from the Big Cypress trees near the headwaters to Haywood Landing. We are now trying to make it free of trash and litter too. This will open a clear paddle trail over 40 miles long all the way to Bogue Inlet. This will be a great tourist attraction for America’s fastest growing sport. Let’s give them a litter free trail to paddle, not dump sites for their lunch stops!.
This is Spring Cleanup time, the ideal time to get this done. Everyone, please help us to make the White Oak River Watershed litter free as it should always be.
You are welcome to join us anytime.
Please also help us to get House Bill 1125 passed. It has the words “I will not litter” appearing above the signature of all licensed driver’s on their license. It is the hands of The Transportation Committee now. The chairs are: Reps Lucy Allen, Becky Carney, Cary Allred and Bonner Stiller. Please contact them and urge them to support this bill. People are driving to bridges over rivers and dumping their trash.This bill should make them think twice before doing this with $1,000. fines for littering or many hours of community service of picking up litter on our roads as an alternative! Elmer
The White Oak River Trashman
Stewards of The White Oak River Basin
please visit our web site: http://www.whiteoakstewards.org/ phone 910-389-4588
#1358, this horned monster will soon fall and be blocking Cowhorn Creek
lunch time on the NEW
A lovely green, mossy bank almost vertical and very striking and intriguing
Other things also come out in the early spring. He never moved. He was absorbing the sunlight.
Disembarkation at McAllister Landing.
