Chasing the Channel – Blog No. 24

Chasing the Channel – Blog No. 24

Cleaning Up the Kansas River by 2030

When I was a kid, we use to fish just upstream of De Soto on the back side of a little bend.  My Dad would take our trusty old jon boat with an old outboard mercury and shove it off the bank of our farm.  My sister and I in tow, we would head out for a day of fishing.  These are some of my very best memories of my Dad, who died in 2015.  My Dad was my connector between our farm and the Kansas River.  He taught me how to fish, bait a hook, drive a boat, canoe, drive an airboat, shoot a shotgun, ride dirt bikes and 3 wheelers, drive every tractor under the sun and even drive a semi.  He was convinced that his daughters could do anything the boys could do, and we did.  I often refer to him as one of the early advocates for women’s rights starting in the 1970’s. 

While I was fortunate to enjoy the river from our farm, many Kansans did not have access.  Thanks to 30 years of Friends of the Kaw and the advocacy, we now have 19 access ramps that Kansans can enjoy on their public river.  When the Kansas River was designated as a National Water Trail (only the 2^nd in the nation at the time) in 2012, that elevated the river in ways that I don’t think we all fully realized at the time.  Our river is now a trail not unlike many walking trails like the Katy Trail in Missouri, where you have plenty of places to hop on and off the river as well as many communities along the way to stop and resupply or get a cold beverage. 

Our Kansas River Water Trail is now becoming an important part of the state – both as a source of recreation and as a working river to provide drinking water to over 800,000 Kansans, to provide irrigation, industrial uses and generate electricity.  I think for so many decades, our river was a “forgotten river”, as my predecessor Laura Calwell referred to the Kansas River in our 30-year documentary.  I think she nailed it.  It was forgotten, until Friends of the Kaw elevated the river’s voice.

I do love that our river is becoming more accessible and used by our river friends.  However, it still bothers me the amount of old dump sites that remain on the river. We removed over 1,000 tires last year, but there is still so much work to do.  We have to remember that at one time, we did not have the modern trash services that we do today.  Many rural people had no where to take their trash and often had a trash dump on their property or barrels where they burned their trash.  There also was a time when there was no way to properly dispose of large items like appliances and vehicles. So many times, they were used a bank stabilization along our rivers and streams.  We also know that discarded tires were used a bank stabilization as well. 

Today, we are cleaning up these old dump sites as much as we can.  Obviously, if an old car is holding a bank, we would not want to remove it because a) it might destabilize the bank and b) it is likely on private property.  However, there are many places along the river that we can do a big cleanup.  We have created a map (yes, a map!) of the tire cleanup sites that we have identified along the entire 173-mile-long river.  We have plans to get all of these tires removed by 2030, but let me tell you that this is an expensive endeavor.  It takes people and resources to make it happen. It takes months of partnership and volunteer building by our staff. These events “don’t just happen”. They take a great deal of coordination, partnerships, and money.

 If I can do one very important thing during my time as your Kansas Riverkeeper, I want it to be to clean up the old dump sites.  It is our duty to leave this river better than we found it.  I will not leave this mess to my children and grandchildren.  I hope you will join me in this endeavor, but we need your help.  We have set a goal to raise $10,000 each year for our cleanup efforts.  As a non-governmental public advocate, we rely on your donations to get this important work done.  Can you help us reach that goal?  Make a donation today to continue our cleanup efforts on the Kansas River!  You can donate online:  https://kansasriver.org/donation/?did=1 or send a check to PO Box 1612, Lawrence, KS 66044. 

Let’s do this together.  We can make our river a better place, with your help.  One tire at a time. 

For the river,
Dawn Buehler

Kansas Riverkeeper