Kaeng Krachan Plastic

The park is open and unfortunately on my first trek upstream from KM 18 I encountered the results of the ill conceived "Small Dam" project built in April May this year. Apart from interfering with the natural flow of the river the dams were made of bamboo and plastic bags filled with sand and, as expected, they have mostly begun to collapse. Consequently the river is now strewn with plastic fertilizer bags from approximately 1KM upstream of KM 18 down to BK camp and I am wondering if the enthusiastic team of blue T shirted volunteers who built these things would now like to come back and clean it all up?

Grrrr.. I had no part of dam building, but I have couple of blue shirts! :(

We cleaned up entire bit from around Pakarang up until km 17 only last season from those sacks. Hundreds of them.

Well.. I already discussed about organizing another cleaning day with flipsflops. Perhaps better to announce it for discussion here. :)

I am always positive. I will be in Ban Krang tomorrow, and already was thinking to see how it looks in the river upstream from around Pakarang area (not wearing blue shirt if ok). This of course if it is easy to walk due to eventual overgrown vegetation, perhaps start some minor cleaning if the vegetation allows me to.

We could perhaps arrange a cleaning day with start from Phanoen Thung, down to km 18 one early Sunday morning? We all know how busy week-ends could be. I once walked km 30 to km 15, I know it is a very difficult walk!

Apart from next few days, this November I will be to Kaeng Krachan minimum 2 more times as two friends of mine will visit Kaeng Krachan at two different periods, dates not spiked yet. I also need to be in Phetchabun area around 5-6 day, so I can't do this month. But I am open for December/January. :)

Mai just told me that various companies does support actions in national parks to get some credits. It looks like "dam building" thing is a popular thingy, this of course if I understand it right. So, the employees "volunteer" to come to the park and build these sack-dams, get a photo framed with rangers and so on..

I would be up for that, just give me a couple of days notice. I calculate there are approx 10 dams with 20 bags in each totaling 200 bags that eventually will be released into the water.

In any case I will be in there next week to try and pull as many as I can out of the river.

Deffo!.. I believe onflipflops had your phone, will borrow your number and give a buzz. :)

Arrived to Ban Krang, to my surprise no other tourists, the campsite war ours. So thought we for 30 minutes until 5-6 cars arrived, tents popped up like mushrooms next to our tent, pop, pop, pop.

I just read this article about Kaeng Krachan's World Heritage Site situation (back to square one);

www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1127212...n-back-to-square-one

Cheers,

Rushen