The U.S. River Conservation Team:

River Cleanups

River cleanups are a key to keeping America's rivers beautiful. People are cleaning up rivers year round, in groups and as individuals, and each year there is a National River Cleanup Week. Here are three ways you can help:

On your own: You can conduct a river cleanup of your own, the next time you go to a river, perhaps with a few friends or fellow club members. Just take along some trash bags, gloves, and perhaps a small shovel or pruning saw to help extricate junk. Take your camera, too, so you can take a few photos of your cleanup and send them to NORS, so you can accumulate River Points and get river gear.
With a larger group: Participating in a larger river cleanup can be interesting and rewarding. To see the list of river cleanups planned in your area, return to the home page, then go to your state, then to your state's calendar. (If you are organizing a river cleanup, post it there.)
Organizing a larger group: If you are thinking about organizing a river cleanup, following is an outline to get you started.

Checklist for organizing a river cleanup:

Form a planning group, consisting of people interested in helping to organize the cleanup.
Line up financial support.
Select a site.
Create a detailed action plan. Plan for the safety of the participants, and plan for the support material you will need:
--Trash bags or other containers.
--Tools.
--Heavy equipment, if necessary.
--Sanitary facilities.
--Refreshments.
--Safety support: local police and paramedics.
--Insurance coverage.
--Prizes for the participants.
Arrange for disposal and recycling.
Publicize the cleanup, through:
--Local media.
--Posters and brochures.
--Public speaking, at events and group meetings.
--Post the cleanup to this web site and other relevant websites.
Recruit volunteers.
Coordinate the cleanup day.
Publicize your accomplishments:
--Take before-and-after photographs.
--Keep track of the items removed during the cleanup.
--Record the names, addresses, and phones of all volunteers and sponsors.
--Send a list of who did what to the U.S. River Conservation Team.
--Report the results to local media, sponsors, and other organizations.
Reward the participants with prizes and recognition.
Evaluate the cleanup, and make suggestions for next time.
Adopt the river after cleanup. Make plans that will keep it clean and monitor water quality.

For further information about organizing a group cleanup, order the booklet and video, Organizing a Successful River Cleanup, from America Outdoors, phone 423-558-3595, for $10.95. Each year America Outdoors coordinates National River Cleanup Week. Since the program was started in 1992, over 215,000 volunteers have participated in 3,156 cleanups, covering 55,306 miles of waterways.

Also contact the Izaak Walton League, Save Our Streams Program, 1401 Wilson Blvd. Level B, Arlington VA 22209. (301) 548-0150.

The U.S. River Conservation Team is made possible by the generosity of the members of the National Organization for Rivers (NORS) and by the manufacturers shown on these pages. To help the team thrive, start or extend your membership by going to NORS memberships. Thank you for your support!

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The National Organization for Rivers
212 West Cheyenne Mountain Blvd
Colorado Springs, CO 80906
(719) 579-8759. Fax: (719) 576-6238.
nationalrivers@email.msn.com