What: 20th Annual Deschutes River Clean-Up
Who: The Upper Deschutes Watershed Council, Local Business Partners, and Community Volunteers
When: 10am to 2pm on Saturday, August 6th, 2016
Where: Volunteers will meet at Riverbend Park. River clean-up activities will take place in the Deschutes River and along its riparian areas between Farewell Bend Park and Tumalo Creek Kayak and Canoe.

The Deschutes River Clean-Up is a special day for watershed stewards of all ages to get their hands dirty and their feet wet. This year marks the 20th annual River Clean-Up! The Upper Deschutes Watershed Council coordinates the Deschutes River Clean-Up each year to engage business partners, river users, and community members in hands-on stewardship activities on the Deschutes River. On August 6th, we will work with volunteers to remove harmful weeds and in-stream debris and clean up litter along the Deschutes River. Recreation use of the river has increased dramatically over the past few years and, unfortunately, so too has the amount of debris that ends up in the river. Approximately 160,000 people now float the river through Bend every summer. According to Kolleen Miller, the Education Director for the Watershed Council, “When I first starting coordinating the river clean-up many years ago we were mainly removing ancient mill debris from the river. Now, we are removing bags and bags of cell phones, flip flops, GoPros, wallets, bikes, and hundreds of bottles out of the river. It is our goal to coordinate the river clean-up to remove the garbage from the river but, more importantly, raise awareness about the problem so that the garbage stops ending up in there in the first place.”

The Deschutes River Clean-Up strives to help volunteers develop a sense of stewardship as they learn about, and contribute to, the health of the Deschutes watershed. This is an annual event coordinated by the Watershed Council to keep our river beautiful and protect water quality for fish and wildlife.

Sponsors: This year’s Title Sponsors include the City of Bend, Bend Broadband, and REI. Additional sponsors include Bend Bend Parks and Recreation District and the Old Mill District. A big thank you to all sponsors and partners for making the Deschutes River Clean-Up possible! #enjoyprotectrespect