A large-scale cleanup of a homeless camp along the Willamette River Tuesday netted thousands of pounds of trash and waste, mitigating environmental impact to the waterway and returning the area to public use.

The city of Eugene and the Lane County Sheriff's Office project took place on an island off the bank of the Willamette River about 150 yards downstream of the Ferry Street bridge and just off the bike path behind the Campbell Community Center on High Street. Public access and camping in the area is restricted from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.

The city's Public Works Parks and Open Space staff and a sheriff's work crew, made up of low-level offenders, spent the morning removing truckloads of trash and waste from the site. Around 15 to 20 people worked using gloves, large trash bags and trash pickers to clear the site of abandoned items.

Brian Allen, illicit activities program field lead for the city, was on site taking part in the cleanup. Allen said crews found 10 large-scale camps on the island and estimated that roughly 3,000 pounds and 45 yards worth of trash would be removed from the area by the time the crews finished.

Crews found broken-down bike frames and tires, decaying food, human feces, trash and at least 50 hypodermic needles within the first few hours of the project, Allen said.

"These islands see a lot of pressure from the homeless," Allen said. "It's also an area of many illicit activities. We live in a really special place, and these camps impact it negatively."

One of the biggest problems for river island camps such as these is all types of trash and waste collected at the site can and has made it into the river.

Joe Waksmundski, park ambassador lead for Eugene Public Works' Parks and Open Space division, said complaints from Eugene citizens about trash in the water, the size of the camp and the negative environmental impact were the main reasons for initiating the cleanup.

"It's really having a negative environmental impact with all of the trash going into the waterway and the destroyed vegetation," Waksmundski said. "It's not a safe place for people to visit. If you had children or wanted to go fishing, you would not come onto this island. It creates a place that's not open to the general public, and it can't be enjoyed."

Waksmundski and other staff visited the site Monday to let camp residents know there would be a clean up. The department always gives 24 hours notice prior to a camp cleanup project so that residents have time to separate their personal belongings from the trash, he said. While they didn't ask, tell or require any of the residents to move from the site, Waksmundski said many did on their own.

Issues surrounding homeless camps in Eugene are nothing new. In June, city council members cracked down on curbside camping, allowing business owners to enforce trespass on planter strips in front of their businesses. However, when it comes to Willamette River islands, issues concerning land management and control will have to play out before the city can impose rules banning camping.

The city of Eugene started negotiations in April with the Department of State Lands to establish a rulemaking process for restrictions on unauthorized uses of riverbanks and islands within Eugene city limits. The riverbanks and islands are state-owned, and therefore state regulated. The DSL Rulemaking Advisory Committee met in June to discuss the potential restrictions including no camping or fires at any time and no public use between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. on the riverbanks and islands, which could cut down on homeless camps in those areas.

As of right now, public access and camping is not allowed in the area from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.

The rulemaking committee has held two of three possible advisory meetings on the restrictions since June and has tentatively scheduled a public comment period for October. Waksmundski hopes the change will be approved and go into effect within the next six months.

If approved, the state would maintain ownership, but rules that apply to Eugene's parks and open spaces also would be in effect on the islands within city limits, Waksmundski said. Because the city of Eugene doesn't have jurisdiction over the area, it hasn't dedicated resources to enforce restrictions and keep large camps from building up, he said.

"With our rules we would be able to visit this area far more frequently and this (homeless camp) would not be able to get to the scope it is already," Waksmundski said. "If this were in our park system, we'd be visiting here multiple times a week."

Follow Destiny Alvarez on Twitter @DesJAlvarez or email dalvarez@registerguard.com.