SEPTEMBER 19, 2008

LEGISLATOR REYNOLDS ADVOCATES COASTAL CLEANUP SEPTEMBER 20

Erie County Legislator Bob Reynolds (D-Hamburg, Evans) is that a worldwide clean up of our coastal waters is scheduled in Western New York from 10 a.m.-noon Saturday, September 20.

In Western New York, people can contact Sharen Trembath for the Southtowns at 549-4330 or show up at Woodlawn State Park on Route 5 in Hamburg the morning of the cleanup. For areas in Lackawanna and north, please contact Kerri Bentkowski at the Riverkeepers at 852-7483 or kbentkowski@bnriverkeeper.org

Legislator Reynolds is asking people to be at an ocean beach or near a river, sound, stream, wetland, or lake on the third Saturday in September to join a cleanup team and participate in the New York Beach Cleanup, coordinated annually by the American Littoral Society as part of the International Coastal Cleanup, a worldwide effort of The Ocean Conservancy.

Volunteers will document and remove marine debris from our shores and waterways. Litter is not only unsightly, it poses threats to humans and wildlife. Birds become entangled in discarded fishing line and 6-pack ring holders; marine mammals ingest plastics that can obstruct their intestinal tract. In 2007, more than 9,000 volunteers documented and removed 143,000 pounds of debris from 285 sites across New York.

Visit the websitewww.alsnyc.org where cleanups "at a beach near you" will be listed, or call the hotline at (800) 449-0790. For assistance in forming a cleanup team of your own, contact Beach Cleanup Coordinator Barbara Cohen at alsbeach@aol.com or (718) 471-2166.

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