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River to get a cleanup
Tom Stienstra, San Francisco Chronicle
October 9, 2003
In a bid to regain public support, Union Pacific has agreed to clean up railroad debris left along its line in the Sacramento River Canyon in Northern California.
UP's chief engineer for track maintenance, David Wickersham, pledged the cleanup operation after a trip last week with fishing guide Jack Trout.
On that trip, Wickersham was stunned to see the level of debris along the river, including about 50 UP plastic water bottles in one half-mile stretch, Trout said, as well as plastic tubes and all matter of metal and rail debris. Later in the day, Wickersham, who had never been fly-fishing prior to the visit, caught rainbow trout in four straight casts.
Wickersham confirmed that UP would hire contract crews to clean up all UP trash, including metal, plastic and wood, on railroad property along the stream. UP will also work with the Upper Sacramento River Exchange, a group of volunteers, and the Department of Fish and Game, to identify and remove metal debris from the river. The cleanup will start next month.
The Upper Sac is one of the best trout streams in America with access along an interstate highway. It also provides swimming, kayaking, rafting and public access at 29 points between Shasta Lake and Lake Siskiyou.
The river and the freight trains that run through the canyon gained national prominence in 1991 when a railroad tanker derailed and dumped 19,000 gallons of an all-purpose pesticide called metam sodium into the river. It was the worst inland toxic spill in California history, killing all aquatic life for nearly 40 miles of river.
In the past year, there have been three more derailments, the most recently in late July when five empty cars tumbled into the river. There was an uproar across Northern California when it was learned that a tanker containing 18,000 gallons of hydrochloric acid was farther back in the derailed train.
Officials from Union Pacific tried to quell the issue with a town meeting in Dunsmuir, but it backfired when the railroad could not guarantee that future derailments and spills would not occur. It reached flashpoint when Trout dumped a bucket of railroad trash in the back of a UP pickup truck and 20 onlookers applauded.
In addition to trash cleanup, UP has also agreed to place drip pans beneath bridges where oils and creosote can leak into the river, use magnets on rail cars to pick up metal debris along the tracks, and assign cleanup crews to the canyon. The railroad will also assist in creating a hiking trail to Mossbrae Falls in Dunsmuir, a stellar destination that can be reached now only by walking on railroad tracks.
Tom Stienstra, San Francisco Chronicle
October 9, 2003
In a bid to regain public support, Union Pacific has agreed to clean up railroad debris left along its line in the Sacramento River Canyon in Northern California.
UP's chief engineer for track maintenance, David Wickersham, pledged the cleanup operation after a trip last week with fishing guide Jack Trout.
On that trip, Wickersham was stunned to see the level of debris along the river, including about 50 UP plastic water bottles in one half-mile stretch, Trout said, as well as plastic tubes and all matter of metal and rail debris. Later in the day, Wickersham, who had never been fly-fishing prior to the visit, caught rainbow trout in four straight casts.
Wickersham confirmed that UP would hire contract crews to clean up all UP trash, including metal, plastic and wood, on railroad property along the stream. UP will also work with the Upper Sacramento River Exchange, a group of volunteers, and the Department of Fish and Game, to identify and remove metal debris from the river. The cleanup will start next month.
The Upper Sac is one of the best trout streams in America with access along an interstate highway. It also provides swimming, kayaking, rafting and public access at 29 points between Shasta Lake and Lake Siskiyou.
The river and the freight trains that run through the canyon gained national prominence in 1991 when a railroad tanker derailed and dumped 19,000 gallons of an all-purpose pesticide called metam sodium into the river. It was the worst inland toxic spill in California history, killing all aquatic life for nearly 40 miles of river.
In the past year, there have been three more derailments, the most recently in late July when five empty cars tumbled into the river. There was an uproar across Northern California when it was learned that a tanker containing 18,000 gallons of hydrochloric acid was farther back in the derailed train.
Officials from Union Pacific tried to quell the issue with a town meeting in Dunsmuir, but it backfired when the railroad could not guarantee that future derailments and spills would not occur. It reached flashpoint when Trout dumped a bucket of railroad trash in the back of a UP pickup truck and 20 onlookers applauded.
In addition to trash cleanup, UP has also agreed to place drip pans beneath bridges where oils and creosote can leak into the river, use magnets on rail cars to pick up metal debris along the tracks, and assign cleanup crews to the canyon. The railroad will also assist in creating a hiking trail to Mossbrae Falls in Dunsmuir, a stellar destination that can be reached now only by walking on railroad tracks.
