On a gloomy and rainy June 13th, the New Hampshire Rivers Council organized another successful McQuesten Brook Watershed cleanup in Bedford and Manchester, NH. In addition to the rain coming down, the volunteers poured in from Anheuser-Busch, New Hampshire Fish and Game, Trout Unlimited, the Manchester Fly Fishing Association, The Town of Bedford, and the Department of Environmental Services. Volunteers were amazed at the diversity and volume of trash removed from the watershed given that similar cleanups are organized by the New Hampshire Rivers Council each year.
This year, volunteers bush-whacked through thick vegetation, waded through muck and mire, and navigated the urban landscape that
Volunteers from Anheuser-Busch on cleanup day
abuts McQuesten Brook to haul out the following, savory treasures:
- 38 bags of trash
- 13 tires
- 3 full shopping carts and several pieces of others
- 1 propane tank, 1 trash can (that everyone found ironic), several hubcaps, bed springs
- Large pieces of lumber, pallets, scrap metal, a broken swing set, and 1 fish tank
- A patio sun umbrella and a cast iron metal cart with wheels
- A Manchester Police Department EVIDENCE Bag – torn open and empty
- Discarded business front signs (10′ by 5′)
“Treasures” discovered by volunteers at McQuesten Brook
Volunteers were tired, dirty, wet, but all smiles at the end of the cleanup when they witnessed the huge mounds of recyclables and trash removed from the McQuesten Brook watershed. McQuesten Brook is a watershed restoration project coordinated by the New Hampshire Rivers Council with partial funding provided by NHDES, the City of Manchester and Town of Bedford. Three, small, dam removals a complete culvert and road crossing removal, and one stream crossing upgrade are all scheduled for 2015 and 2016 on McQuesten Brook. For more information on this exciting project, please visit http://nhrivers.org/mcquesten-brook/