11th Annual Port Mansfield East Cut and Beach Cleanup

Miller and Kathie Bassler, along with a crew of 220 volunteers have scored another great success in cleaning the Mansfield Channel and several miles of gulf beach.

Beach and shoreline cleanups come in various forms; the logistical challenges of this event make it notable in that the work area is accessible only by boat - five miles across the Lower Laguna Madre from Port Mansfield – or 62 miles down the Padre Island National Seashore beach from Corpus Christi.

The result was more than 22 tons of debris, much of it plastic, removed from the channel shorelines, jetties, and adjacent gulf beaches. When all the picking-up was accomplished, the trash was loaded on trailers and hauled back up to national park headquarters at Malaquite Beach.

The Basslers give huge credit to the dozens of Port Mansfield homeowners who graciously house out-of-towners for the weekend effort and many area fishing guides who donate the day to ferry workers to the work area, foregoing a lucrative Saturday charter. The volunteer fleet included 33 boats. Special credit is also due national park personnel who participated and helped coordinate disposal.

Volunteers were provided breakfast and sack lunches during registration at the Port Mansfield Chamber Pavilion, the staging area where the crews then board boats to the work area. The event was capped with a celebration dinner, free to all donors and participants.

Cleaning the jettied section of the channel is especially challenging, given the size and of the granite blocks and the tripping hazards. A human-chain was organized to pass the bagged debris across the rocks to the waiting trailers.

Photo credits go to Bob Daemmrich. Check out the drone video footage captured and compiled by Dennis Rodriguez https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0OaO4-lzX0. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video must be worth a million!

Learn more about this event by contacting [email protected] or Kathie Bassler [email protected]