McKinney Falls State Park CITO Cache In Trash Out Event

Remember the floods of October 31, 2013?  McKinney Falls State Park had to close for a period of time and there are still areas that need some cleaning up.  What better way to help our State Parks than to have a CITO.  Please come help. The CITO will be from 8:00a.m. to 11:00a.m, with actual cleanup time from about 9:00a.m. to 10:30a.m. Trying to beat the heat. And don't forget, we get a souvenir!

Contingency Plan:

McKinney Falls State Park

McKinney Falls State Park in Travis County, located in South Austin, is a 726-acre park acquired in 1970 from private donation and was opened to the public in 1976. The headquarters of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department are near this location.

What we'll do to help

McKinney Falls SP suffered greatly from the Halloween Floods in 2013. Check out the Related Web Page link above to see how the floods affected the park.

I spoke with the superintendent of the park, David Shirley, and there is a particular area of the park that he would like for us to focus on.  Please mark a "Will Attend" to receive announcements as I get new information and update this page. We will also be joined by a group of about 50 Americorps people around 10:00 to help with some of the heavy lifting. They are bringing wheelbarrows, shovels, etc.

I will also be working with Keep Austin Beautiful to help supply vests, grabbers, gloves, etc.  Again, mark a "Will Attend" for the particulars.

We will not be meeting at the park entrance, but rather over by TPWD HQ. I've added parking coordinates, as well as coordinates for where we will meet. We will be greeted by a Park Ranger who will brief us on the necessary safety precautions.

I did a site visit with the park superintendent and I've got an update. We'll be meeting at the HQ training facilities and take the trail behind that building. We will need to do light bushwhacking in the last little section, but that's a short distance. A Park Ranger will be available at trails end with water and to carry our trash bags out.

Off the beaten path!

This is not your typical CITO. The area we will clean up is part of Williamson Creek. It's a nice little hike down the trail; I regulary walk this trail at lunchtime while at work. We marked the trail so that we know where to start some light bushwhacking to get to the creek. Actual cleanup time for us is more like from 9:00-10:30 after we factor in hiking and pre-cleanup meeting time.

• Be there promptly at 8:00am for the meeting before we head down the trail as a group. A Park Ranger will be there to talk about precautionary safety measures. This is routine for all volunteers at the park. You will need to sign the release form and help with the cleanup to earn your smiley.
• At the meeting, you will need to sign a release form and turn it in before you are allowed down to the cleanup site. You will not be allowed to the site without signing the form.
• Wear long pants and, preferrably, long sleeves.
• No open-toed shoes. Sneakers are okay, but hiking boots are better.
• There is an area with shallow water. If you have rubber boots and want to help out in this area, wear them. Otherwise, you can focus on the non-wet part.
• Keep Austin Beautiful (KAB) is providing poison ivy and first aid kits. You might want to bring insect repellent. There's also a technu product you can put on that will help keep poison ivy off of you in the first place. I did see poison ivy in the area.
• If you have shovels and sturdy rakes, bring them. I could get some tools from KAB, but you've seen my car. It will already be filled with vests, gloves, etc. The Park Ranger will bring any items down to the area in their truck. You will not have to carry them down the trail.
• The Park Ranger will also have water on the truck, but you will need to bring a reusable drinking container (hydration pack, water bottle, etc.).
• Although dogs are normally allowed in the park, the park superintendent discourages bringing any pets as part of this cleanup project. This area is not around campsites or the part of the park you normally would travel. As I mentioned, this is not a walk in the park, but a couple of hours of hard work. So, leave your pets at home until you come back to the park for a leisurely visit.
• Kids may join us, but think about all I've mentioned above. We have had boy scout troops come help, but these are older scouts. It's probably not a good idea for little kids.
• We will not be clearing out brush or chopping limbs, although we might have to move some out of the way. Our job is only to pick up trash. From what I saw, it was mostly plastic bottles, but who knows what all's under the brush. TPWD will haul the trash away.
• What you see in the pic below is a big mound of debris. It's not safe to just climb on top of it. What we'll do is use rakes to scrape stuff from the sides. We can spread the brush around and pick up the trash. Any tires found will just be stacked.
• Keep on the lookout in case I add more items.

Please come join us at the After CITO Munch-a-Bunch.