The Noyes Sleuth (part 2)
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
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Please keep the noise (Noyes) down.
While a beautiful setting, this park needs "cache in trash out" help. Good location for moose, beaver, owls, Canadian geese, a variety of ducks and other birds, a fox, squirrels, and ptarmigan. Our hope is that this cache will encourage people to recognize one of our local parks and take pride in keeping it clean and useful. Make certain the cache is hidden well and watch out for muggles.
The Noyes Sleuth
Please keep the noise (Noyes) down.
Description
Noyes Slough is a five-mile stretch of slow-moving water, meandering through the northern parts of the City of Fairbanks. It branches off the Chena River about 500 feet downstream from the Wendell Street Bridge, rejoining the Chena just upstream from the University Avenue bridge. The water is often stagnant, and receives contaminants of many kinds owing largely to its urban setting.
The slough has been on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Section 303(D) List of Impaired Water Bodies since 1994. Restoration efforts have occurred intermittently over the past 30 years, including studies on the quality of the slough’s water, sediments, and fish habitat, cleanup activities, and dredging of the slough channel.
Before 1945, the Tanana and Chena Rivers contributed water to Noyes Slough during times of high flow. Flood control measures taken for those rivers since 1945 have reduced flow to the slough so that the primary source of water in the slough is now groundwater and runoff from storm drains, with almost no flushing occurring at high river stages.
The city and borough, community groups, and state and federal agencies have been concerned about the slough and its potential contamination and hydrological problems for years. These groups also share the goal of restoring and enhancing valuable fish habitat in Noyes Slough. Grass-roots organizations, such as the Noyes Slough Action Committee, and K-12 school groups, such as the Noyes Slough Project, established by students at Anne Wien Elementary School, helped bring the environmental problems to the public’s attention several years ago. Moreover, a significant amount of environmental data have already been collected as part of previous assessments. Cleanup efforts carried out by the elementary school students, the Noyes Slough Action Committee, neighborhood groups, and government agencies have resulted in the slough's being much cleaner than it was years ago, but a great deal of work remains to be done. In general, many people in Fairbanks believe the slough is a special place worthy of being restored, and most envision a future of clean, flowing water for both recreation and wildlife habitat.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Gnxr n yvggyr fgebyy qbja ol gur jngre sebag...qba'g ragre sebz gur ebnq.