Volunteers clean, uncover Tom McCall beach in Portland

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - The Human Access Project held their final low water beach cleanup for the season on Saturday at Tom McCall Bowl Beach in downtown Portland.

More than 100 volunteers worked to uncover a stretch of beach downtown along the Willamette River for people to enjoy next summer and beyond.

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Volunteers, who included two Boy Scout troops and kids from Oregon Episcopal School, hit the water’s edge during the full moon’s low tide to pick up rocks and place them on the riverbank.

According to an HAP spokesperson, moving this rock, known as ‘riprap,’ will help protect the bank while expanding the beach. This will also make swimming safer and make it easier to launch kayaks and stand-up paddle boards.

This will also improve shallow water habitats for Salmon, the spokesperson said.

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The cleanup of Tom McCall Bowl Beach on Saturday afternoon follows a massive transformation of Cathedral Park a few weeks ago, where volunteers removed 120 tons of concrete and riprap rock.

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