On Saturday, February 11, the local Auxiliary flotilla teamed up with friends and neighbors at Coconut Point and collected trash and debris from the mangrove swamp bordering Pala Lagoon. About a half a ton of trash was collected between noon and 3p.m. by a dozen volunteers. It was hot and muddy but very rewarding to be a part of the island wide cleanup effort. The Pala Lagoon is a local treasure that should be cleaned and kept polished.

According to Louis Solaita, the flotilla commander, this is the first in a series of attacks on the lagoon litter problem. The overall mission is to clean up the whole peninsula. When combined with ongoing efforts by ASPA and NPS, this could clean up the whole perimeter of the lagoon.

One of the volunteers commented that they wish they could get useful metal to last as long as some of the junk found buried in the mud. The rope pictured above offered a couple of the guys a real tug of war contest – which had to be ended with a saw!

Saturday’s effort was part of the flotilla’s coast watch program. One Saturday a month is designated as coast watch day and members of the auxiliary survey a section of Tutuila’s coastline and report any environmental or navigation issues.

The Auxiliary is focused on boating safety but also participates in vessel inspection and pollution detection efforts by the USCG. Membership inquiries should be directed to the Human Resources Officer Josie Lealasola at malepeai@gmail.com.

The Coast Guard Auxiliary is the uniformed volunteer component of the U.S. Coast Guard and supports the Coast Guard in nearly all its service missions. Congress created the Auxiliary in 1939. For more information, please visit www.cgaux.org