"Mosenthein Island Trash Bash and Beach Party" 9-26-15
Mosenthein Island is a wilderness outpost located in the heart of the St. Louis metro area. This Mississippi River island is only approachable by boat at most river levels and is located just downstream of the Chain of Rocks, on the only "non-navigable" stretch of the Mississippi River below St. Paul. The heart of the island is a three mile long bottomland forest with towering cottonwoods, overgrown old fields and vines as thick as your thigh. The head of the island is a vast sand bar, punctuated by deep swimming holes dug by high water.
A group of local river and environment organizations led by artist Libby Reuters wanted to give some love to this island, and to begin to introduce people to this treasure. We had heard stories of a ferry that, in the 40's, shuttled families across the river to Mosenthein for beach parties and sunbathing. We thought we'd recreate this history with a morning of island clean-up, removing tons of floodborne trash from the forest and beaches, followed by a party with an island outpost cafe, beach volleyball and the inauguration of the "3rd Coast Mississippi River Swim Club".
Partners included Big Muddy Adventures, Watershed Cairns, Missouri Coalition for the Environment, Open Space Council, the Gramophone, 1 Mississippi, Missouri River Relief, Piasa Palisades Sierra Club, Our Missouri Waters, Mo. Dept. of Natural Resources, Army Corps of Engineers
Photo by Melanie Cheney
"Mosenthein Island Trash Bash and Beach Party" 9-26-15
Mosenthein Island is a wilderness outpost located in the heart of the St. Louis metro area. This Mississippi River island is only approachable by boat at most river levels and is located just downstream of the Chain of Rocks, on the only "non-navigable" stretch of the Mississippi River below St. Paul. The heart of the island is a three mile long bottomland forest with towering cottonwoods, overgrown old fields and vines as thick as your thigh. The head of the island is a vast sand bar, punctuated by deep swimming holes dug by high water.
A group of local river and environment organizations led by artist Libby Reuters wanted to give some love to this island, and to begin to introduce people to this treasure. We had heard stories of a ferry that, in the 40's, shuttled families across the river to Mosenthein for beach parties and sunbathing. We thought we'd recreate this history with a morning of island clean-up, removing tons of floodborne trash from the forest and beaches, followed by a party with an island outpost cafe, beach volleyball and the inauguration of the "3rd Coast Mississippi River Swim Club".
Partners included Big Muddy Adventures, Watershed Cairns, Missouri Coalition for the Environment, Open Space Council, the Gramophone, 1 Mississippi, Missouri River Relief, Piasa Palisades Sierra Club, Our Missouri Waters, Mo. Dept. of Natural Resources, Army Corps of Engineers
Photo by Melanie Cheney