COMMUNITY COMMENTARY: Cleanup offers chance to help environment

Newport Bay Cleanup Day is Saturday.

This annual event provides the rare opportunity for the local community to remove unsightly and harmful trash from the saltmarsh and upland areas of the Back Bay that are normally off-limits to the public in order to protect endangered birds and their habitat.

Nesting season has just ended and migrating birds have not yet arrived from Canada and Alaska for the winter, so entry into restricted areas is less disturbing.

One bird of particular concern is the light-footed clapper rail. The Back Bay has the largest, and some believe, the only viable subpopulation of this secretive bird remaining in the United States. The endangered clapper rail builds its nest in the tall cord grass growing in the lower marsh areas.

This year-round resident is a poor flier and moves about on foot undercover of the cord grass and other vegetation. When it does venture out, it is most likely to be seen in the early morning scurrying about looking for snails, crabs, insects and other food at the edge of the marsh. Please treasure any fleeting glimpses you may have of this shy bird from marked trails and designated cleanup areas. Tread wisely to avoid damaging delicate vegetation.

Cleanup Day is an international event that has been taking place for more than 20 years. Here in California it is coordinated by the California Coastal Commission, which provides trash bags and other supplies to the hundreds of locally organized cleanup efforts at sites up and down the coast and along the rivers and creeks that empty out into the ocean.

Upper Newport Bay historically has been one of the largest cleanup sites in California with more than 1,000 members of the public typically collecting about 20,000 pounds of trash and recyclable materials. This is a collaborative effort involving Orange County Harbors, Beaches and Parks, California Department of Fish and Game, the city of Newport Beach, Newport Sea Base, Newport Aquatic Center, Newport Bay Naturalists and Friends, and others.

If you would like to help clean the bay, check in from 8 to 11 a.m. Saturday at the Peter and Mary Muth Interpretive Center, 2301 University Drive, on the corner of Irvine Avenue and University Drive in Newport Beach.

Shuttle service is provided from this location to other areas of the bay. Volunteers receive free lunch served at the Interpretive Center and T-shirts.

Individuals, families and groups are all welcome. Wear old clothes and shoes.

For more details on the event, visit newportbay.org.

New this year: One of our valued sponsors, eWaste, will have a collection truck in the Interpretive Center parking lot from 8 a.m.to 1 p.m. accepting all your electronic waste such as computers and TVs.

For a complete list of recyclable electronics, visit 4ewaste.com.