Everyone come out and help us
keep “The Grotto” clean and free of trash by doing some
"Cache-In Trash-Out" action.
When I came to the Tri-Cities for
the first time in 1993, I always took a long walk on Sunday
afternoon. My favorite areas for walking were Bateman Island, the
Yakima Delta, and the bank of the Yakima River from SR 240 to West
Richland (now the Chamna Preserve to WE Johnson Park). These areas
had a lot to offer in terms of beauty, solitude, and wildlife, but
they all had one major drawback. They were being used essentially
as a landfill by people who (for whatever reason) chose not to use
the city and county landfills provided to them.
Sugar and I moved
back to Richland in 2000, and got involved is Geocaching in 2001.
Our first two geocaches were hidden on Bateman Island and in the
Yakima Delta. Those areas were cleaner than they had been in 1993,
but were still in need of some “serious land stewardship”. On the
details page of “Sluggo’s Delta Hairlines” cache I put in a plea
for some cash-in trash-out action.
In 2002, when the
geocaching community was beginning to be frozen out by some land
managers, I decided I should make a more in-depth inquiry into the
land management of the plots where I had placed my geocaches and
obtain permission (after-the-fact) to place caches. The land
managers turned out to be the “Tapteal Greenway Association”
(visit
link) The Tapteal Greenway is the 30-mile corridor along and
including the Yakima River extending from Kiona Bend at Benton City
to the mouth of the river at Bateman Island in Richland. I went
before their board and they determined that geocaching is
consistent with their mission and acceptable-use policies. Their
vision (as posted on their web page) mentions geocaching
(specifically) as an acceptable activity:
Vision of the Tapteal Greenway
-
"The Tapteal Greenway is a corridor where wildlife,
natural vegetation, and people co-exist; which provides
opportunities for non-motorized recreation, education, and habitat
protection; and is planned and managed for future generations
through community involvement and inter-jurisdictional
cooperation."
Recreation on the
Greenway is different from most recreational opportunities in the
Tri-Cities area. Because conservation of natural habitat is one of
our pillars, we encourage "muscle-powered" low impact forms of
recreation.
Walking, running, biking, horseback riding, wading, fishing,
floating, paddling, bird watching, geo-caching, orienteering -
these are all appropriate activities on the Greenway.
Fires, digging,
camping, partying (children's birthday's excepted) paint-balling
and shooting with anything other than a camera are NOT! These
activities are actually illegal on the Greenway lands which are
mostly comprised of City or Federal recreation
properties.
The Grotto -
The “Grotto at
Duportail” is an area of the Greenway that has been problematic
from the beginning. It is a beautiful area shaded by a canopy of
trees right along the river bank. It has become a favorite spot for
“keggers” and has been used (and
abused) by fisherman, 4-wheel drivers, and illegal
dumping.
In 2003, in return
for the greenway’s support for geocaching, the local cachers
(GSEWA) offered to adopt the grotto area and keep it clean by
having clean-up days (such as international CITO Day) and
continuously patrolling the area. Since then, local geocacher
participation in several of the Greenway’s work-days and continuous
patrol has kept the area relatively clean. Recently installed
Chicago barricades have kept motor vehicles out of the area and
kept illegal dumping to a minimum. This cache is a chance for ALL
geocachers to join us in keeping "The Grotto" clean.
This cache
contains only a logbook, geocaching notice, and trash bags for your
CITO use. Please put it back exactly as found. Be on the lookout
for muggles. A good place to park is N 46 15.956 W 119
18.267.