HAMILTON — The Bitterroot River will flood with volunteers from the headwaters to the confluence on Saturday, as the annual Bitterroot River Clean Up returns. Organizers say volunteers can still lend a hand to help pick up trash from the river or the banks.
WATCH FROM THE WATER WITH MTN'S CAROLINE WEISS:
“At least 100, if not 150, volunteers come out and they spend the day cleaning the entire length of the Bitterroot River,” said Alex Ocañas, Bitterroot Water Partnership’s manager of community conservation. “They are walking some sections, volunteers are floating some sections, and each year they're cleaning hundreds of pounds of trash from the river.”
The Bitterroot Water Partnership has put on the trashy tradition for almost 20 years.
“The river clean up is one of our favorite events to host each year because it is such a pure example of community stewardship in action,” Ocañas said. “It's a great opportunity for people who love the river to get out there, have a beautiful day together, give back to the river, leave it cleaner for people and wildlife and just have fun.”
There are already 100 people signed up for Saturday, but still over a dozen sections of river need volunteers. They will join the ranks of river cleaners along the West Fork, the East Fork and the main stem of the Bitterroot River all the way to the confluence.
“Families, children, grandparents, individuals, church groups, all sorts of people come together for the purpose of cleaning the river together,” Ocañas said. “They sign up for a certain site and they go out at whichever time works best for them.”
They have pulled some wild trash out of the river, including a bathtub, a couch and an old washing machine. Each year, they hold a contest for the best piece of trash.
“Last year, our best trash award was given to a safe, like an old safe, that was pulled from the river. No treasure in it, just sand, but still an odd find,” Ocañas said. “All sorts of trash that ends up where it shouldn't be and we just like to recognize some of the silly stuff that people pull out of there.”
Once the work is done, there will be an afterparty in at Fin’s Taphouse in Corvallis. This year, along with the celebration, Bitterroot Water Partnership plans to use the party to speak with the community about the Sheep Creek Project, a controversial mining exploration proposed near the headwaters of the West Fork.
“For many years, volunteers would pull close to 2,000 pounds, if not more than 2,000 pounds of trash from the river. Today, we're pulling, on average, closer to 750 pounds of trash from the river each year,” Ocañas said. “To me, that says that we're doing a pretty good job keeping our river cleaner and cleaner each year. But, it still needs this big day of attention every year to give it that deep cleanse and pull out all the litter.”
If you would like to help, you can find out more on the Bitterroot Water Partnership’s website.
