Friends of the Kayaderosseras News

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Activities Committee-
Kayaderosseras Creek Cleanup Continues

July Clean-up Dates Coming Soon...

Article from The Saratogian Newspaper Friday, November 18, 2005

The Friends of the Kayaderosseras Creek made a good haul last Saturday when they pulled 165 tires, a snowmobile, a few refrigerators, car fenders, carpets and mattresses from the little creek running through Ballston Spa.

Last week, 23 volunteers from the area spent hours cleaning up the creek. From an eighth of a mile among the stream, volunteers pulled out nine piles of scrap metal and four pieces of mixed trash, and filled 17 large garbage bags with trash, said John Battenfield of Friends of the Kayaderosseras.

"We are just getting the tip of the iceberg," he said. "This has been accumulating there for 35 years." This is the first solid cleanup we've done here.

The town of Milton and Ballston Spa will provide the equipment to dispose of the trash.

The cleanup will be the last for the year, but organizers are planning to have two more in the spring when the weather warms up.

Volunteers will pick up and sort out solid waste and debris and any trash that found its way into the stream throughout the years. A few decades ago, before concerns of pollution became a serious issue, dumping an old sofa or fridge into the stream was a common practice.

"It was done everywhere," Battenfield said. But now Friends of the Kayaderosseras and local volunteers are worried about the effects of rusting metal on the streams water.

The stream which bears the American Indian name for "a river with many bends." is an extension of the Gordon Stream, a trout stream preserved by the Department of Environmental Conservation.

"The idea is preservation and conservation," he said. "The Kayaderosseras is one of the jewels of Saratoga County. it has a lot to offer."

Conservation / Water Quality

Local land use decisions are the most important factor in determining protection for the creek.  Let your local town board or planning committee know that the Kayaderosseras matters to you.

If you are a home owner along the creek, maintain the creek margin in forest or native plants.  Lawn is not as absorptive and will permit larger run-off.

If you want to know more, check out the following websites:

www.epa.gov/nps - links to a homeowners guide to healthy habitats for clean    water.

http://www.cwp.org/ – Center for Watershed Protection website.

http://www.urban.nacdnet.org/ – Nat’l. Assoc. of Conservation Districts website.

http://www.saratogaplan.org/trail_kayaderosseras.html - Saratoga Plan

http://www.saratogaplan.org/cp_GreenInfrastructure.html - Saratoga plan

http://www.adksportsfitness.com/september2005/articles/paddling.html -
Adirondack Sports Fitness

http://www.championtrees.org/oldgrowth/surveys/SaratogaSpaSP.htm