Eight volunteers took part in a beach cleanup with a local non-profit group, removing nearly 45 cubic yards of marine debris from five miles of beach on Sitkinak Island, Oct. 5 through 8.

The cleanup was the last in a series of large-scale marine debris collections that Island Trails Network conducted around the Kodiak Archipelago this year, ITN founder and executive director Andy Schroeder said.

Schroeder described the project as “phenomenal,” because the group worked in close cooperation with the land user, a ranching family.

“We were able to rent ATVs from them and trailers, and it really made us a whole lot more efficient,” he said. “In past cleanups, we’ve cleaned maybe a half a mile of beach. This time we cleaned about five miles of beach, because we’re hauling this stuff by trailer and ATVs down the beach, and that really made us a lot faster and saved a lot of backs.”

ITN, which is funded by a grant from the Marine Conservation Alliance for the project, is a non-profit corporation formed in October 2006 to develop, maintain and promote sustainable trail systems and wilderness recreation throughout the Kodiak Island Borough.

“We’re not funding ourselves, and we’re not asking for money from our volunteers,” Schroeder said. “We’re operating on a grant from the (MCAF), who administers marine debris cleanups around Alaska through a grant from NOAA.”

The ongoing project is a survey of marine debris on the islands of the Kodiak Archipelago from the Trinity Islands to Shuyak Island.

“Marine debris carries toxins through the marine environment, impacts wildlife and detracts from the natural beauty of the coastline of every ocean in the world,” according to ITN’s Web site. “The islands of the Kodiak Archipelago are host to hundreds of tons of marine debris, including plastics, bottles, cans, and derelict fishing gear from all over the Pacific.”

Schroeder said the estimated 45 cubic meters of marine debris, collected over about five miles of beach, are lashed down and secured in super sacks—donated by Brechan Enterprises—on the north beach of Sitkinak for the winter. The debris will most likely be removed from the beach next spring.

“That’s usually a separate operation from the cleanup, because it usually involves heavy equipment,” he said. “That’s something volunteers can’t be a part of. That’s part of the contract.”

Schroeder said that although he doesn’t have firm plans for beach cleanup projects next year, he does intend to continue doing such work.

“It’s part of our core values,” he said. “And we’re going to keep doing things like that.”

To report marine debris deposits to ITN, visit www.islandtrails.org.

Mirror writer Erik Wander can be reached via e-mail at ewander@kodiakdailymirror.com.