GRINDSTONE ISLAND — Dead cars have been piling up on Grindstone Island for decades, drawing a harsh contrast to the island's natural beauty. Now, islanders are stepping up to take the matter into their own hands.

Carolyn E. Bazinet and her husband, Francis, are working out a deal to get many of the abandoned cars off the island without paying a dime.

"I think it is a good opportunity for us to get things cleaned up before we have 100 or 200 abandoned cars on the island," Mrs. Bazinet said.

The Bazinets, who have been trying to haul the cars off the island for the past couple of years, are hoping to get as many as 30 to 40 cars off the island this summer.

"We've got like 14 already. We're getting salvage guys to come over and take them off," Mr. Bazinet said.

So far, a local scrap metal dealer and a Canadian dealer are interested in paying the barge fees.

The date for the haul is not set, but the cars will be removed within the next week or two.

"It's a win-win for landowner and salvage people," Mr. Bazinet said.

Patsy A. Parker, office manager of R.J. Marine Associates, Clayton, which will barge the cars off the island, said the job might take two days, depending on the number of cars.

"We will not be charging people on the island for the removal," Ms. Parker said.

Ms. Parker, who will coordinate the barging, said R.J. Marine Associates and islanders are still working out the details, including the number of cars to remove and which scrap metal dealer the cars will be sold to.

This is not the first time junked vehicles have been hauled off the island. In 1979, the town of Clayton gave about 300 vehicles to a salvager, and 159 vehicles were removed the same way in 1994.

Island residents often bring unregistered and unlicensed vehicles to the island on a barge or by driving over the frozen St. Lawrence River. The town has been reluctant to remove these vehicles because it can be impossible, to identify the owners.

"Usually the cars that come to the island are on their last legs," island resident Eileen "Urch" Slate said.

Mrs. Slate said in many cases, once the vehicles die, owners are reluctant to pay the expense of hauling them back to the mainland and simply abandon them on the island.

"Part of the problem is that people don't want to pay the barge fees of $250," she said.

The Bazinets are still compiling a list of cars to take out. Only cars that have tires — those that the salvage workers can roll to the docks with a tractor — will be removed.

Residents interested in disposing of their expired cars on the island for free should call the Bazinets at 686-4819.