POWERGRAMS

21 Few people would think of trash as valuable. But some residents of Lake Martin look for it as if it were treasure. A good example is Billy Barre, president of the Lake Martin National Shuffleboard Club that meets and plays at his cabin. When the Lake Martin Treasured Mile cleanup program was formed in 2016, Barre rallied fellow club members to get on board, becoming among the first volunteers. "Geing out there and walking the shoreline picking up trash is important," said Barre. "And once you do it, you find it's fun." Lake Martin residents had been taking part in annual cleanups for years. But realizing that maintaining a trash-free lake is a daily process, they knew they had to do more. Meanwhile, as part of the new Martin Dam licensing agreement with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Alabama Power was developing a cleanup effort on the lake – an adopt-an-island program. "We had been making progress through our annual cleanups, moving around the shoreline into areas that had never been cleaned in the history of the lake," said John Thompson, Lake Martin Resource Association (LMRA) president. "But once we had done that deep cleaning, we said, 'Let's partner with the power company to maintain it.'" Alabama Power and the LMRA then brought in Russell Lands, and the result was the Treasured Mile, a cleanup effort that calls for lake residents and organizations to adopt an island or portion of shoreline. "Using Google Maps, we broke the shoreline into mile-long segments and put them, along with the lake's 27 public islands, on a map on our LMRA website," said Thompson. "Then, we opened the program to the public, and it caught fire. The lake lovers came out of the woodwork and said, 'Hey, we want to help.'" More than 300 residents and groups have adopted either an island or a mile or more of shoreline. All 27 islands – those most used by campers, hikers, swimmers and visitors – have been adopted. Volunteers have claimed more than 40 percent of the lake's 800- mile shoreline, those areas that are not located within neighborhoods. In recognition of these efforts, Alabama Power has posted signs on each island and along the shoreline with the names of the adopters. "I think the program has worked really well," said Rhe Hanks, Alabama Power Shoreline Management Operations team leader. "It's great that locals are willing and able to keep the islands and shoreline free of trash. It has been especially beneficial for our islands because they are heavily used and a lot of trash accumulates." VOLUNTEERS ADOPT SHORELINE SEGMENTS FOR CLEANUP by CARLA DAVIS ONE MAN'S TRASH ... Thompson and Hanks at Lake Martin.

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