Hiking along a remote stretch of coastline in Olympic National Park ten years ago, Jan Klippert came upon all sorts of trash and debris that had washed up from the Pacific. Large pieces of Styrofoam littered the shore, together with rubber tires, fishing nets, ropes, and plastic water bottles, some of them drifting on ocean currents from as far away as Asia. A devoted outdoorsman and retired employee of the county public works department, Jan was disheartened by the condition of the coastline, but confident that a solution could be found. "There is a need for a massive cleanup of our ocean shore," he later wrote in an article to raise community awareness. "A grand opportunity exists for a coordinated effort including National Parks and volunteers."
The cleanup opportunity was finally seized in April 2000, when, after talking to some friends in the Park Service, Jan was able to organize almost three hundred people who came out to clean a sixty-mile stretch of the Olympic National Park shoreline. In that first year of the coastal cleanup, volunteers collected eighteen tons of trash, with assistance from the Park Service, the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, and the Quileute tribe in transporting the trash to the dump.
Since that time, the Olympic Coast Cleanup has become an annual event. Hundreds of volunteers turn out each year to cover an increasingly larger area of coastline – now over two hundred miles – picking up and hauling away twenty-three tons of trash at the most recent event. In addition to restoring the pristine appearance of the beaches, the cleanup also brings the community together, including the participation of four local Indian Nations – the Makah, Quinault, Quileute, and Hoh tribes. All age groups come out for the cleanup, from young children to retirees like Jan, and everyone looks forward to the barbeque in the picturesque setting at the end of the day, exchanging stories about their more curious finds – like the occasional water bottle from Australia or Japan.
The Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary credits Jan Klippert's initiative with being "critical to protecting this national treasure and an opportunity for people to connect to this wild and remote place." And connecting to this ruggedly beautiful stretch of the world is perhaps what matters most to him. "It was an absolutely magnificent day," he recalls of one of the cleanup events. "Seventy degrees. No wind. Huge flocks of geese flew north overhead. A flock of sandpipers was working the shoreline. People were picking up debris and enjoying the beauty..."
To learn more about Jan Klippert and his cause, and how you can make a difference, please visit:www.olympiccoastcleanup.us.
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