News Testimonials

April 2013 - First Edition New Haven Life

Editorial by Board Member, Jane Borge

Riverbank replanting goes to waste

In the first weekend of January, I was stunned to see throngs of robins clustering in the red fruited flowering crabtrees along Kreager Park’s soccer field parking lot. By Wednesday, they had doubled or tripled in number. They were stripping shriveled berries and seeds from vines and bushes.

These opportunistic refugees from the storm front that drove them north will find no such buffet along the riverbanks in the Fort Wayne area due to the Army Corps of Engineers’ thorough removal of plants and trees. Despite local groups’ work to naturalize the riverbanks and levees along the Maumee River, seven years’ work was efficiently erased by Corps of Engineers subcontractors who tore out trees, bushes, shrubs, vines, wildflowers and seedy weeds, leaving only a scruffy shag of burnt-looking and limp grass. This mat of dead grasses will offer returning bird populations nothing but an unobstructed view of rivers that offer neither food nor shelter.

Restoring native plants and grasses helps reduce runoff, stabilize soil and reduce pollution. Preventing silty erosion, soil and extra agricultural byproducts from entering our rivers helps improve water quality.

Save the Maumee, now merged with Lake Erie Waterkeepers, saw seven years of restoration work ripped out without notice, despite having a charter to do this work. Answers have not been forthcoming. Shabby treatment for committed, informed volunteers, and bad news for birds

JANE BORGE Fort Wayne

Published in Journal Gazette

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Fort Wayne Speaks: Podcast Interview by Trinity Wilds

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Fort Wayne was founded on the rivers and they truly are part of what makes us great.  Save Maumee was founded by Abigail King, who became concerned about the quality and safety of our rivers after purchasing a house near the Maumee River.  Listen and learn what Save Maumee is doing to help our rivers, what you can do to help them and simple changes we can make in our daily lives to improve water quality. (Recorded 7/16/12)

Save Maumee (Lake Erie Waterkeeper)

 

 

Left, Hailey Gardner (intern)
Right, Abigail King (founder/director)

Earth Day draws attention to clean water initiative
ftwaynedailynews.com
By Kelly McLendon
Friday, April 13, 2012, 12:00am

Participants from last year’s Earth Day celebration hold up signs for saving the environment. Photo courtesy Save Maumee

Since it began, the Lake Erie Waterkeeper-Save Maumee Chapter has cleaned up 22,000 pounds of trash from rivers, streams and other riparian areas, which include locations on the bank of a waterway, program director Abigail King said.

The Save Maumee Grassroots Organization began in 2001 and joined forces with Lake Erie Waterkeeper in March. Lake Erie Waterkeeper is a nonprofit organization that belongs to Waterkeeper Alliance, which is an advocacy organization that aims to protect and preserve the water supply.

The group will host several upcoming events to celebrate Earth Day and to aid in improving local river quality. Save Maumee’s seventh annual Earth Day event will take place on Sunday, April 22, at the corner of North Anthony Boulevard and Niagara Drive.

The outdoor event is a swift change from most Earth Day celebrations, with tree planting, installing erosion control mats, removing garbage on river banks and rallying for cleaner water.

“I have attended many where there are booths inside buildings to celebrate Earth Day and felt a need for something more. People need to embrace the natural spaces that we have and enjoy them, beautify them,” King said.

The grassroots organization was formed to create awareness about the conditions of the rivers in Fort Wayne and to also facilitate “ecosystem restorative projects to help Lake Erie,” according to the group’s website.

The St. Joe, St. Marys and Maumee rivers are all a part of the organization’s projects.

“What we do is extremely important,” King said. “Our municipality does not clean up trash in the rivers due to liability and the (Department of Natural Resources) only runs through twice per year to clean up trash.”

King’s efforts to improve water quality began when she purchased a home near the Maumee River.

“Save Maumee has been a very time- consuming hobby for me since I purchased a home a few hundred feet from the Maumee River in 2000 and my friends told me I could not take the kids swimming in the Maumee,” she said. “Since then, I have been researching what is wrong with our rivers in Fort Wayne. I saw a need in our community.”

The work of King and many other volunteers is starting to pay off.

Recently, the organization was awarded “Indiana Organization of the Year 2011,” presented at the Butler University Conference and given by the Hoosier Environmental Council.

“Our volunteers have set the example of effective ways to help with the No. 1 pollutant in our watershed-sedimentation/erosion-and rallied our local citizens, business and government to action,” King said.

The group focuses on the Maumee because it contributes to the Great Lakes and also has local importance.

“We focus on the Maumee because the St. Joe and St. Mary’s come together to form the Maumee. Here in Fort Wayne, revitalizing the Maumee Watershed will protect and restore the environment and improve the economic, aesthetic and recreational value of our waterways.”

The organization also represented northeast Indiana during meetings on Capitol Hill and has participated in Clean Water Week in Washington, D.C., since 2008, King said.

The group will take part in SolFest at Fox Island County Park in May, and it will hold its fifth annual Canoe Cleanup later this year.

When it comes to keeping local rivers clean, King offered some advice.

“No littering — ever,” she said. “One hundred percent of litter eventually ends up in rivers.” She also recommended that citizens attend meetings, make suggestions and “be a voice for your river.”

She said the group is busy planning, executing and implementing plans to benefit all.

“I am glad the time is now, but we need people to be involved in this process,” she said. “It will take people to fix these problems and work for cleaner water.”

On Wednesday, April 18, residents who want to help raise money for Save Maumee can do so by dining out at Texas Roadhouse, 710 W. Washington Center Road, from 4-10 p.m. Ten percent of food sales will be donated to the organization.
 

Fort Wayne Monthly interviews Abigail King in 20 Questions - April 2012 edition
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"Nova Rex: It Ain't Easy Being Cheezy" Rockumentary makes it to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame! Save Maumee Grassroots Org. is mentioned in the credits!

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The Lowdown: Save Maumee grassroots group named
“Indiana Organization of the Year 2011”

Submitted by Jaclyn Goldsborough on Thu, 12/22/2011
Posted in http://fortwayne.com

• The Lowdown

Fort Wayne is known for its three rivers — the St. Joesph River, St. Marys River and the Maumee River — but who is protecting them?

The answer is Save Maumee.

Save Maumee was honored in early December by the Hoosier Environmental Council as the “Organization of Year” for empowering the people of Fort Wayne to protect the extensive waterways by working-on projects, events and legislation.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL ARTICLE  

Published: July 17, 2011 3:00 a.m.
Troops attack Maumee trash
Patrick Svitek
The Journal Gazette
Photo by Dana Jinx

Indiana Army National Guard members use canoes to collect trash from the Maumee River on Saturday, part of a national cleanup campaign.

Fort Wayne – Ten tires, two kiddie pools, a sump pump, a microwave and a doll head were among items collected by Staff Sgt. David Grimm’s Indiana Army National Guard team Saturday afternoon in the Maumee River.

As part of the National Guard’s nationwide Guard the Environment campaign, Grimm’s troops collected trash – 40 bags’ worth – along the river from near the Wells Street Bridge to the Thomas L. Deetz Nature Preserve in New Haven.

The cleanup crew included about 20 new enlistees in the recruitment sustainment unit, a preparatory stage before basic training and boot camp.

Sgt. Nathan King also participated in the five-hour effort, which started at the river banks near Fort Wayne Outfitters and Bike Depot on Saturday morning. He said the service project “shows that we’re growing as a community to help the families” of Fort Wayne appreciate the city’s three rivers.

“This is definitely one of the things the community wants to see,” he said. “It’s unifying, for one thing.”

Grimm said the river sweep also provided a valuable experience for his troops, many of whom are still learning basic skills and courtesies.

“It’s a way to give back to the community before the community gives back to them,” he said.

The National Guard unit first heard about the volunteer opportunity when one of its members, Sgt. Michele Berkes-Adams, became involved with Save the Maumee, a local river advocacy group.

She said the city economy could benefit from cleaner rivers, especially with businesses such as the Depot promoting river recreation.

But Abigail Frost-King, Save the Maumee’s founder, is hesitant to declare victory. She said she encountered some obstacles as she tried to organize the cleanup.

For example, she said Fort Wayne city government refused to provide a Dumpster for easy disposal of the extracted trash because Kreager Park, the project’s approximate end point, is not within city limits. She also noted the state Department of Natural Resources will provide garbage-collecting boats only twice a year.

Regardless, she praised Grimm’s troops for fulfilling a dirty task most workers avoid at all costs.

“No one else is cleaning up the waterways,” Frost-King said.

psvitek@jg.net
 

Published: July 16, 2011 3:00 a.m.
Guard recruits help clean the Maumee
Rebecca S. Green | The Journal Gazette

If you see soldiers in canoes Saturday floating down the Maumee River, don’t panic. It’s not an invasion, but rather a war on trash.

They are recruits with the Indiana Army National Guard, performing a community service project under the direction of Staff Sgt. David Grimm of Detachment 1, Company A of the Recruiting and Retention Battalion.

The soldiers have not yet gone on to basic combat training, or “boot camp,” but are still looking to serve their community. And this weekend, that’s cleaning up the Maumee River in an effort to help out the non-profit organization, Save the Maumee.

Using canoes from Fort Wayne Outfitters and other organizations, the soldiers will float down the river from Fort Wayne Outfitters, near Wells Street in downtown Fort Wayne, and heading east toward Kreiger Park, Grimm said.

Along the way, they’ll pick up trash and clean up what they can, he said.

Every three months or so, Grimm takes his soldiers out to perform a “green” community service project such as ripping out invasive shrubberies at Allen County’s Fox Island Park.

“We just feel that the community does so much for us, and it’s kind of like our small little token to give back,” Grimm said.

In his opinion, Fort Wayne is one of the most military-friendly communities in the country and it is important for the soldiers to contribute to it, he said.

“They’ve done so much for us, and we’re trying to help in every little way we can,” he said.

rgreen@jg.net

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Published: 6/28/2011
Plenty to learn about regionally important river
130-mile journey begins with leg to Antwerp
BY STEVE POLLICK
BLADE OUTDOORS WRITER
http://www.toledoblade.com/sports/2011/06/28/Plenty-to-learn-about-regionally-important-river.html

Blade outdoors editor Steve Pollick and a small team are canoeing 130 miles of the Maumee River this week from Fort Wayne, Ind., to Toledo and will be reporting daily on the journey.

"Paddlers Jaeger, Horvat, and Hebert check out the launch site at Kreager Park in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on the eve of the Fort-to-Port canoe trip." THE BLADE/STEVE POLLICK

 

FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- By the time you read this report, Matt Horvat and I should be well on our way to Toledo by canoe down the river known some 340 years ago as Miami of the Lake.

We began at dawn Tuesday from Kreager Park here and plan to make 29 miles to Antwerp, Ohio, by tonight -- as grandpa used to say, "God willing and the creek don't rise." We'll aim for Defiance, not quite half way to Toledo, Wednesday. But until then, hour by hour, it will be one stroke of the paddle after the next. Just like the old days.

To us, the Miami of the Lake is the Maumee River, an anglicized spelling of the Ottawa word for Miami Indians, miaami. But to say that those of us who reside here "know" the river, by any name, is a stretch. What we do mostly is take it for granted, glimpse at it here and there from scenic vistas along U.S. 24, and then mostly forget about it.

It may not be the Amazon or Nile, but it does not have to be. The Maumee is ours, it is here and now, every day -- a state scenic and recreational river that provides drinking water, seasonal sport fishing of national renown, recreational opportunities for powerboats, sailboats, and hand-powered canoes and kayaks and rowing shells. Not to mention interstate and international commerce as a port to the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway. Not to mention some fetching rural scenery.

It is, for a fact, a vast tri-state watershed, the largest on the Great Lakes at some 6,600 square miles. Almost four thousand miles of streams, creeks, and rivers empty into the Maumee; it is the largest watershed of any river flowing into the Great Lakes.

It drains some of the best, richest farmland in the world, once the Great Black Swamp. Because of that agriculture, it also produces more silt -- soil runoff from farmland -- than all the rest of the rivers on all five Great Lakes, combined. Just ask the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, charged with dredging the Toledo Ship Channel, if that is not significant.

This river played a key, historic role in the early white settlement of North America, including among many events the pivotal Battle of Fallen Timbers, the final action of the Northwest Indian War, fought 3/4 mile north of the banks of the river near present-day Maumee.

After this decisive victory for General Anthony Wayne, a 12-mile-square tract around Perrysburg and Maumee was ceded to the United States in 1795. Lands north of the river and downstream of Defiance were ceded in 1807, and the rest of the river valley was ceded in 1817. Prior to the development of canals, portages between the rivers were important trade routes and were safeguarded by such military compounds as Fort Loramie, Fort Recovery, and Fort Defiance.

So it is not for nothing that Matt and I want to experience this river. We are paddling through human and natural history, in the present, in anticipation of an uncertain future.

Matt is the Maumee River coordinator for the Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments. He sees it as part of his professional duty to know this river intimately, the hard way, one stroke at a time.

Our partners and supporters on this endeavor, John Jaeger and Lou Hebert, likewise have their reasons. Jaeger, retired natural resources manager for the Metroparks District of the Toledo Area, has been educationally and professionally close to the river for many years and now wants to know it beginning to end from the water up. Hebert, a veteran broadcast journalist, always has wanted to shoot a video documentary Fort to Port. They will join us here and there by canoe, meet us by chase car.

As for me, I first met the river up close and personal, by canoe, all 130-odd miles, in three days in 1984. I want to take another look, to see what has changed -- in the river, in my vision of it -- in 27 years. Stay tuned.

Frost-King a friend to travelers, river

It never hurts to seek local advice, and if you are trying to figure out exactly where to begin a Fort-to-Port canoe journey, you might want to contact Abby Frost-King.

Six years ago she founded Save Maumee in Fort Wayne, a river restoration and support group, and she knows the stream locally from the ground up, so to say. Her advice last evening saved us hours of wasted time at a river-closure at a bridge construction site that we would not have known about until too late.

When she moved nearby the river -- a flood-control dike was just across the street -- she envisioned lazy summer days with her children on a sandy wooded bank. But her first trip to the river was an eye-opener. It was an eyesore.

"I thought it was a dump site. There was so much trash. Nobody was doing anything."

So Frost-King took the bull by the horns and started Save Maumee. So far her small group -- which attracts 300 volunteers for Earth Day and canoeists for a September stream cleanup -- has removed 12 tons of trash from the riverbanks and planted 800 pounds of riparian seeds for cover.

It is, as she says, a start. The Web site for the group is savemaumee.org.

Contact Steve Pollick at: spollick@theblade.com or 419-724-6068.

Photos by Laura J. Gardner | The Journal Gazette

Sally, an Irish bloodhound, watches while volunteers Tricia Pelkington, left, and Levi Huffman load a piece of furniture into a pickup during Save the Maumee’s event Sunday.

Last updated: April 18, 2011 11:59 a.m.

No treasure in trash

Volunteers lug tons of junk from Maumee in Earth Day event

Devon Haynie | The Journal Gazette

 

Save the Maumee volunteers collected two tons of trash from the river on Sunday.

 

By 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Abby Frost-King and her fellow environmental activists had pulled two tons of trash out of the Maumee River.

Among the more unusual findings were two mattresses, a wading pool, a water heater, a tuxedo jacket and someone’s tax form. And with an hour or so of cleaning to go, more surprises were yet to come.

“At this point, it doesn’t matter what else comes out,” Frost-King said as she stood near the river. “It’s all ridiculous.”

Frost-King’s group, Save the Maumee, conducted its sixth annual Earth Day celebration Sunday, just a few days before the holiday Friday.

About 200 volunteers gathered on the banks of the river near Anthony Boulevard to plant seeds and trees and pull trash from the muddy Maumee.

The celebration included performances by local bands, a lecture about water conservation and wildlife presentations by Soarin’ Hawk Raptor Rehab.

“There’s a really good feeling around,” said Les Lesser, a volunteer and band member of The Wilderness, which played during the cleanup. “It’s all about raising awareness of how dirty and disgusting our rivers are.”

Frost-King said she didn’t think much about Fort Wayne’s rivers until 2000, when she moved near the Maumee. At first, she was excited by the thought of letting her kids swim in the river. But her enthusiasm turned to horror when she learned about the sewage, manure and chemicals in the water.

When Frost-King first started her river cleanup event, she used her own money to pay for seeds to plant along the shore. Today, she depends largely on financial and seed donations.

Although Frost-King believes it will take a massive, coordinated effort to clean up the city’s rivers, she said events like Sunday’s give people the sense that they can make a difference.

“I wanted to give people something tangible to do to help,” she said. “And it’s fun. That’s what Earth Day is all about.”

dhaynie@jg.net

 

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Environmental impact begins at home

Journal Gazette Tuesday April 12, 2011 Editorials

When it comes to protecting the environment, you don’t have to be a “tree hugger” to make a difference. The task might seem daunting, but the little everyday things matter. Here are a few ways to get started:

Gardening:

Use native plants in your landscaping, as many are drought-resistant and can survive in potentially dry conditions. And they can help filter out pollutants before they flow into rivers.

Compost all your food waste. This organic material is nutrient-rich and will nourish your garden.

Grow produce to sell at farmer’s markets. This eliminates shipping, delivery costs and the environmental impact of delivering produce to stores.

In your home:

Re-use bags! Plastic or cloth bags can have many lives.

Use environmentally safe cleaning products.

Be mindful of what you put down the toilet.

Your car:

Be aware of leaks. Fluids can run off into storm sewers and pollute rivers.

Cluster errands whenever possible to save gas and reduce emissions.

Keep tires properly inflated. Underinflated tires can also detract from handling, safety and durability.

These “green” practices are good starting points.

By reducing consumption, reusing, recycling and being an informed consumer, we all can make a positive impact. The rivers thank you!

For more information about saving our rivers, visit www.savemaumee.org.

LAUREN P. CAGGIANO   - Fort Wayne

 

 

Cathie Rowand | The Journal Gazette

Abigail Frost King collects trash along the Maumee River, her pet project for the past six years. And hundreds have joined in her annual cleanup day.

Save Maumee Group Conducts River Cleanup

By Scott Sarvay
September 29, 2010 Updated Sep 29, 2010 at 4:28 PM EST
 

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (Indiana's NewsCenter) - A local environmental group is worried about the health and safety of Fort Wayne's rivers and a recent cleanup effort showed they are often mistreated.

Abigail King with the Save Maumee Grassroots Organization says about 60 volunteers walked riverbanks and floated in canoes on September 18th, removing trash from the Saint Mary's River near downtown.

She says tires, a bed mattress, kitchen sink and portable meth lab were among items pulled from the rivers.

She was just as irritated by the discovery of condoms.

King says, “Abigail King/Save Maumee: " Those aren't extra curricular activities on the river, that is from what people flush down their toilets. It's going directly into your river, so things don't just go away when you flush them down your toilet."

The city of Fort Wayne has also organized efforts to clean all the Saint Mary's, Saint Joe and Maumee Rivers within the past two-years.

© Copyright 2011 A Granite Broadcasting Station. All rights reserved.

Cleanup flusters Maumee group

Caitlin Johnston | The Journal Gazette

Photos by Cathie Rowand | The Journal Gazette

Abigail Frost King, left, and her son Canaan Eubank, 14, collect trash along the Maumee River on Saturday. Upper Maumee Watershed Partnership sponsored the Bi-State River Cleanup.

Last updated: July 25, 2010 10:16 a.m

Volunteers spent hours cleaning the Maumee River, replanting the banks along the way.

Tires. A Little Tikes sport coupe. DVD cases. A car door.

Sounds like trash in a junkyard or a city dump. But it’s litter found in the Maumee River.

The Upper Maumee River Watershed Partnership and local volunteers spent several hours Saturday canoeing down a two-mile stretch of the Maumee gathering trash as part of the Bi-State River Cleanup.

This is the first event the partnership has organized, but treasurer Abby Frost has led several outings on other parts of the river with the Save Maumee Grassroots Organization.

Volunteers used canoes and boats to scour the river and collect as much trash as possible.

But with limited time and minimal manpower, they had to leave a lot behind.

“There’s a lot of stuff we had to leave out there, which I wasn’t expecting to do,” said Chelsie Werling, 21.

“It reminds you that you need to take care of the river and why you want to protect it.”

A mayonnaise container, Axe body spray bottle and a small abandoned boat about the size of a canoe were all stranded in the river.

And then there were the ducks. About 2,000 plastic ducks were reported missing after the 22nd annual Duck Race fundraising event for Stop Child Abuse & Neglect.

Each canoe brought back dozens of the miniature ducks they found floating along the Maumee.

Despite cleanings done by local groups, trash continues to accumulate, said Greg Lake, Allen County Soil and Water Conservation District director. Lake also is the steering committee chair for the partnership.

“The sad part is, a lot of people who use the rivers the most trash it up,” Lake said. “It’s frustrating.”

Upper Maumee is the third active watershed project in Allen County, Lake said.

The group is looking to apply for funding from various state and federal sources to engage in conservation efforts, but first it must develop and submit a watershed management plan. The goal is to do so within the next year, Lake said.

The amount of trash in the river is just one indication of the effect humans have.

“People don’t understand the consequences of the things they do,” Lake said, citing examples of gutter drains and agricultural runoff.

Volunteer and activist groups allow people to get to participate and try to preserve local resources.

“This is kind of a hands-on approach that you can actually get people involved with instead of just sitting at meetings,” Frost said. “People want to feel empowered and like they can make a difference.”

cjohnston@jg.net

Stay Away from Rivers, Sewage Infested

Click on Picture for Video

Reported by: Marchelle McConnell
Monday, April 26 2010

The recent rainy weather is causing the combined sewer system to overflow. That means rainwater and sanitary sewage are mixing and draining into the rivers. The city sent 3 alerts over the past 72 hours telling residents to stay away from river water, that's because sanitary sewage is making its way into the rivers.

Sewage overflow is nothing new to the city. Overflow happens an average of 71 times a year. The city is working to reduce sewage discharge to 4 times a year. But so far this year, the combined sewers have already overflowed 12 times.

Frank Suarez, the Public Information Officer for City Utilities, says “When it rains, the storage in the pipe does not have enough capacity to handle the extra rain and flow going through the pipes so they historically overflow.”

Abigail Frost, a clean water advocate and founder of Save Maumee, says “It's every time it rains a 10th of an inch. You know how often that is. It could be anytime.”

Frost says the contaminated water can make you sick. “If you get it in any of your orifices or if you have an open wound or abrasion of some kind that would be a concern for an infection.”

The city is working to fix the problem. Suarez says “This is what we are correcting with our $240 million dollar project as we do sewer separation projects and additional projects where we are adding new ponds to help with storage capacity.”

The city has an agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency to reduce overflow by 91% percent by 2025. That means reducing the number of overflows to 4 times per year.


Until then, no fines will be handed down. The only consequence for now is dirty water.

Suarez says the rivers will continue to overflow for the next several years. They have reduced 40 million gallons of overflow so far this year. The goal is a reduction of 2 billion gallons.

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300 pick up trash in, along Maumee
It's Earth Day effort to raise awareness of city's three rivers.

By Sarah Janssen
of The News-Sentinel
sjanssen@news-sentinel.com
April 19, 2010

♦This year, volunteers pulled out two refrigerators, a plow and a water heater, among other items.

♦Since 2005, Save Maumee has removed 7.5 tons of garbage from the rivers and their banks and planted more than 740 trees. The group and its volunteers have used 700 pounds of seed to create more than 10,000 feet of erosion control.

For more information and ways you can save water and energy in your home, check out www.savemaumee.org.


Save Maumee founder Abby Frost is tired of meetings, so she decided to take action.

Sunday's Earth Day Celebration marked the fifth anniversary of Frost's efforts to raise awareness about the condition of the three rivers in Fort Wayne and restore the ecosystems there.

“These are not new ideas. Everybody wants to sit in meetings, but we need to move forward with a plan,” Frost said. “I do this because I care.”

About 300 people came out 11 a.m.-4 p.m. to help pick up trash and plant seeds along the Maumee River.

Participants enjoyed wildlife demonstrations, free food and live music.

Wayne Sears, who recently moved his family to Fort Wayne, brought his three children out to help clean up the river after his wife met Frost.

“We heard about it and wanted to help,” he said.

Frost thought the day was a success because so many people of all ages volunteered to work.

Everyone came together in organized chaos.

“It all worked out for the best,” she said.

------------------------------------------

 

Bruce Allen plants raspberry bushes for erosion control on Sunday as part of Save Maumee”s fifth annual Earth Day celebration to help clean up the river.

 

Photos by Samuel Hoffman | The Journal Gazette

 

Brenden Sears, 8, left, and Keiran Ward, 11, collect trash in the Maumee River on Sunday.

It was a little bit like a scavenger hunt along the Maumee River on Sunday, although clues were often bad smells and nobody wanted to touch what they found.

Trash-busters scour up Maumee

Published: April 19, 2010 3:00 a.m.
Devon Haynie | The Journal Gazette

Sunday marked Save Maumee’s fifth annual Earth Day celebration near North Anthony Boulevard and Niagara Drive. About 100 volunteers gathered this year to plant seeds and pull objects they could from the muddy river.

“This year I pulled out a gas tank,” Abigail Frost, the event organizer, said as she stood on the banks of the river near a pile of trash. “This here is a trailer hitch. And this (she pointed to two metal poles) … I have no idea what this is.”

Frost started Save Maumee five years ago to get the community involved in keeping the river clean. She said she didn’t think much about Fort Wayne’s rivers until 2000 when she moved near the Maumee.

She was about to let her kids swim in the river when friends warned against it. Curious about how polluted it was, Frost started doing research. What she learned appalled her – the water was tainted by sewage, manure and dangerous chemicals.

“By 2005, I couldn’t shut my mouth anymore,” she said. “I had to take action.”

When Frost first started her Earth Day activities, she used her own money to pay for seeds to plant along the shore. Today, she depends on proceeds from T-shirt sales and horse rides throughout the day. She also accepts seed donations from people and the Little River Wetlands.

In the past, Frost and her volunteers have found computers, cell phones and plastic pink flamingos in the river. This year, volunteers also spotted a refrigerator.

Elyssa Fuller, 11, said although she absolutely hated cleaning her room, she enjoyed picking up the river.

“When people litter, it’s ruining the environment,” she said. “That’s why you come out here and put your time into picking up the river. It helps make the world a better place.”

dhaynie@jg.net

 

Working Toward Clean Rivers -

CLICK TO WATCH VIDEO

Reported by: Marchelle McConnell
FOX WFFT TV Fort Wayne
Friday, February 19 2010

Monday Mayor Tom Henry spoke about his efforts to improve the rivers in his state of the city address. The Mayors River efforts are connected to a federal mandate issues by the Environmental Protection Agency. The city is required to improve the rivers by 2025. The city has been working toward this for years. A city official says the reason the mayor included the rivers in his speech this year was to show his commitment to the mandatory project.

Abigail Frost, a local clean river activist and founder of Save Maumee, wants to see the city take more action. Frost says “I see them bringing up the rivers as movement and progression, yes. I eagerly anticipate what the city has planned in addition to the mandatory EPA regulated long term control plan.”

Frost says the city always has plans, but she wants to see more hands on projects.

Frank Suarez, with the City Utilities and Public Works, says “Right now we have the upper Healy interceptor which is a pipe that 52 inch wide. It's going in on the North side of Fort Wayne near DuPont and Leo Road, and it's going to relieve the amount of overflow from storm sewers.”

The city will start installing another sewer separation system in two weeks at the intersection of Woodrow and Vance.
Frost says the work the city is doing is progress, but to meet their goal by 2025 more needs to be done now.
 

Pharmaceuticals in Indiana Streams

CLICK ON PICTURE FOR VIDEO

Reported by: Marchelle McConnell FOX Fort Wayne News @ 10
Monday, Oct 19, 2009 @07:50pm

The study by Ball State University took place over the past year. Ball state researchers found pharmaceuticals in 10 streams in the Upper White River watershed. Abigail Frost is a clean water activist in Fort Wayne, and Founder of the Save Maumee Organization. She says she's not surprised by the study, because she's known of the problem for years. “I was really bothered by in 2008 when the first study came out.”

The study by Ball State says 300 different pharmaceutical drugs are passed into fresh water through human waste. Water filtration plants are not eliminating them before they reach our drinking water. But that's not the only way drugs are getting into streams. Frost says “A year ago if you were to call one of the pharmacies, they would tell you to flush medications down the toilet to get rid of them. But that's been improved because now they will tell you to bring it to a sheriff's office to get rid of it.”

So what was found in these streams? The mood-altering drug lithium, dimethylxanthine, a byproduct of caffeine, cotinine, a byproduct of nicotine, and acetaminophen. Frost says she doesn't know how this problem will be solved. She encourages people not to flush old medicines down the toilet. Scientists don't know how traces of pharmaceuticals could impact us. Ball state researchers say pharmaceuticals pose potential health risks to both humans and fresh water animals.
 

 

Wallet Heads on an Incredible Journey
 

CLICK ON PICTURE FOR VIDEO

Reported by: Kristin Mazur FOX Fort Wayne News @ 10
Thursday, Oct 8, 2009 @09:14pm

 About a month ago Peter Stockfish was at the Old Fort, volunteering his time, and getting ready to reenact a battle. “During the battle I was going to die and I didn't want to land on anything” says Stockfish. So in order to prepare, he emptied his pockets, taking out his my wallet, car keys and pocket knife. He placed his belongings in a building inside the fort. But when the battle was over he came back, started searching, and couldn't find his wallet. His wallet was stolen and taken from that building and two weeks later found in the St. Mary’s river.

“We found Peter’s wallet” says Abigail Frost, founder of the ‘Save Maumee’ organization. Frost was also volunteering at the time, cleaning up the river. She recalls of the wallet “it was in a pail, there was like a 5-gallon bucket pail that they brought with a bunch of other garbage.” Unable to find Stockfish, Frost called the local Veteran Affairs office using a number she found in the wallet. “I got a phone call Friday morning from the VA rep in Huntington saying 'hey have you lost your wallet? I received a call from a lady who volunteers cleaning the river’” recalls Stockfish. The wallet was still intact, still containing his debit cards, license, insurance cards and his VA slip “It saved me heartache from trying to put my life back together by putting everything back in my wallet” Stockfish says. But a few things were missing: six dollars, 15 to 20-dollars in foreign currency, some coins and an AT&T phone card. It doesn't seem like much compared to the credit cards, insurance cards and license that weren't taken but, according to Stockfish, it was the sentimental stuff that was gone. The coins missing were ones Stockfish got while serving overseas. He says he earned them while serving. He say's it was a hard lesson but it was definitely learned.

 

Finding your inner activist and saving the Maumee

The Communicator - IPFW

Written by Alysen Wade  October 1, 2009

Activism, as the word implies, requires action. This means real-live people working together to accomplish a common goal. As young people, we are so inundated by the myriad of social, political and environmental problems that acquiescence often seems the only tolerable method of survival. This cycle of inactivity and pessimistic reasoning of “the world is far too big for me to have any affect,” becomes the foundation for which we lead our lives. However, a giant leap in overcoming apathy is arming ourselves with knowledge and discovering tangible solutions to fix immediate concerns in our local community. One point of obvious concern is the crisis of the rivers.

Pipe discharge, aging sewer systems, previously unregulated dumping; PCB’s (man made chemicals), high mercury levels, pesticides, E. coli, and an infamous toxic landfill all contribute to our impaired waterways. IPFW alumna, Abigail Frost purchased riverfront real-estate in 2000 and has since been gathering alarming details regarding the problems facing our rivers. She has also succeeded in forming a grassroots organization aimed at educating as well as inciting the public to take part in watershed restoration. A private citizen who has devoted herself to the cause, she firmly states: “I do not want to let it go.”
After eight years of leading the community in action, she says there are ways to fix this problem. By keeping our local government and corporate entities accountable; also by riverbank clean-up and continued education, clean rivers are not out of reach.

Abigail also urges students to take part in revitalization activities by participating in clean-up of the St. Joe River that runs directly through the campus. “All you have to do is go down there…” Frost says. Any little bit of garbage removal will help by preventing pollution from flowing downstream into the Maumee and eventually the Great Lakes. By forming a group that meets on a monthly basis, students could coordinate with the missions of Save Maumee Organization and combine their energies to provide real and lasting solutions.
As an inspiration to those of us unwilling to let life’s challenges inattentively spiral past, Abigail Frost reminds us in the words of Ross Perot, that “The activist is not the [one] who says the river is dirty. The activist is the [one] who cleans up the river.”
 

EXTRACTION FROM THE COMMUNICATOR - October 6, 2009. Misquote: "Because 85% of the rivers’ contaminates are acquired at the headwaters that begin right here in Fort Wayne"
True statements from Save Maumee: "Up to 80% of a streams water quality is inherited at it's headwaters. Fort Wayne contains about 80% of the population in the Upper Maumee Watershed.

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Local Group Cleans Up City Rivers

CLICK ON PICTURE FOR VIDEO
 

by Kristin Mazur, - Local FOX News @ 10
September 11, 2009

Abigail Frost likes to spend a lot of time by the river, but her time spent there isn't a form of leisure. Frost founded the “Save the Maumee Grassroots Organization” after her family moved into a house next to the river and was astonished by what she found. The group is dedicated to raising awareness to the pollution problem taking over the city's three rivers.  “I was ready to dump a load of sand down here to go swimming and obviously we can't do that” says Frost. 

Plastic bags, soda bottles, concrete poured along the riverbank, even a gas tank: those just some of the things we found while walking along the Maumee River today.  Frost and I even came across two men’s (different) shoes. Frost spotted a tire floating in the river and without a second thought she's in the water to retrieve it. Tires can breed up to 500 mosquitoes every 4 days. 

“The Maumee is the largest and longest contributing stream to the great lakes” says Frost.  80-percent of that stream water quality is inherited from the headwaters of the Maumee.  “If it rains a tenth of an inch then the CSO, the combined sewer overflow, discharges into the river” she says.  Twenty-one cities dump into Fort Wayne Rivers before reaching the St. Joe's, the river residents get their drinking water from. There's also many downstream drinking the water from the Maumee, places like Defiance OH and Toledo. 

One of the most interesting things she’s found: a ‘Kiss” CD in its original case and a purple plastic flamingo.  The group will hold their 2nd Annual “Canoe-Clean UP” tomorrow September 12 from noon-5PM. For more information and how you can take part in the effort head to www.savemaumee.org or call (260)417-2500.

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Abigail Frost: a True Grassroots Activist

Founder of Save the Maumee Grassroots Organization
 

Abby with a fish carcas

A Brewster Smythe, Yahoo! Contributor Network - Associated Content
Feb 12, 2009

In the year 2000, Abigail Frost began to notice the stacks of garbage and junk that was floating in the river in front of her home. She had lived in many other parts of the country before and had always been able to swim in the rivers, but was soon to find out that that would not be possible at her new residence.

The Maumee River in Fort Wayne, Indiana- along with the St. Joseph and St. Mary's Rivers are too polluted to swim in and because of their trash-filled countenance they are really too filthy to enjoy at all.

Abigail Frost began a mission back in 2000 to find out what she could do to change all that and has been at it since. She began her own grassroots organization- Save the Maumee Grassroots Organization - and has been an active voice for the Three Rivers of Fort Wayne.

The Waynedale Green Alliance, highlights those who are truly grassroots activists -those who without fanfare or fame give mightily of themselves for a great cause.

Abigail Frost is our pick for A Grassroots True Activist Award. Recently we asked Abigail (or Abby, as she likes to be called) to give us some important information about the St. Mary's River. Our interest in the St. Mary's is community driven because Waynedale is surrounded by the St. Mary's River. Citizens here are interested in knowing what makes this river flow. Here is what we found out from Abigail Frost, founder of the Save the Maumee Grassroots Organization.

"Historically, the St. Mary's River was teeming with so many fish that canoes could easily be filled with whitefish by fishermen using only dip nets. During World War II the US Navy vessel St. Mary's River was named after this northeast Indiana river-section! Today does not paint a teeming wildlife picture due to problems in our watershed, from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico.

The St. Mary's River is approximately 100 miles long and formed in southern Auglaize County in western Ohio. It flows briefly west to Grand Lake and then northwest into Waynedale, ending in Fort Wayne.

The Three Rivers in Fort Wayne are actually the St. Joe and St. Mary's joining to form one river...the Maumee! Our rivers here are very important because they flow into the largest fresh water source in the world.

The Great Lakes Watershed and the Wabash Watershed flow away from each other because their tributaries flow in different directions beginning in Eagle Marsh area between Fort Wayne and Waynedale. Ultimately water flows into the Mississippi & Gulf of Mexico west of Waynedale and tributaries from the east flow into the Great Lakes!

Fishermen still enjoy their sport, while paddlers glide easily upstream in the weak current of the St. Mary's. It is shallow and warm enough for nature savvy enjoyment. Luck may lead you to find the sweet fruit of the Paw Paw on the riverbanks. Indiana (Hoosier) Bananas or Paw Paws grow under the canopy of old growth areas. It tastes like a mix between a mango, banana and pineapple from the seedy sweet middle.

Being a favorite native fruit to the area, it was once up for Ohio adoption as their state native fruit!

Unfortunately, St. Mary's is listed on the 303d List of Impaired Water by the Environmental Protection Agency. Sedimentation/erosion, fertilizer, pesticides, household chemicals, medication, E. Coli, low Dissolved Oxygen, siltation, nutrients, ammonia and turbidity are causing habitat alterations. Impaired uses for the St. Mary's River and restrictions on fish consumption are due to mercury and PCB's of yesterday and today' industry. Heck, we thought flooding in Waynedale was the worst problem for residents!

Problems in our entire watershed should be a major concern for citizens in Indiana. One

Person cannot undo problems that stem from being in the heart of the rust belt of the 1920s, and the loose enforcement of environmental laws, however each individual can do their part to be part of the solution. Tax payers want to improve the economic, aesthetic and recreational value to fully utilize rivers. The answers are basic yet expensive, consequentially, this is overlooked.

River restoration is a necessity not a luxury. We depend on the services that healthy water provides at an extremely fundamental level. This is our water and your decision. For the sake of millions of people, be part of the solution."

We, at the Waynedale Green Alliance would like to thank Abigail for her informative piece concerning the St. Mary's River here in Fort Wayne.

We also are proud to issue our proclamation that Abigail Frost is a Grassroots True Activist.

Getting no credit for responsibility

Frank Gray -

Trash awards

The Save the Maumee Grassroots Organization held its fourth cleanup of the Maumee River on Earth Day and has just released an inventory of the trash that nearly 200 volunteers helped pull out of the river.

If there can be such a thing as awards for trashing a river, here they are:

Largest piece of trash: A 7-foot-by-4-foot-by-2-foot piece of foam, waterlogged, big enough that it took several people to get it out.
Most contaminated: A TV set, possibly with mercury and PCBs.
Most potential to cause West Nile: Six tires, including a tractor tire 6 feet high mired in the riverbed.

In all, the trash collected weighed 2 tons.

Frank Gray has held positions as a reporter and editor at The Journal Gazette since 1982, and has been writing a column on local issues since 1998. fgray@jg.net.

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Posted on Thu, Apr. 12, 2007