Photos: Volunteers kick off the season with cleanup events at both ends of the Riverway

Two events a week apart brought volunteers out to pick up trash on the Namekagon River and at the Boom Site.

May 10, 2013

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Via the Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway:

On April 27, seventy enthusiastic volunteers celebrated Volunteer Day of National Park Week by cleaning up the Namekagon River. Volunteers gathered at Hayward Landing for a safety briefing, a little conversation, and work assignments. They were split into four crews, with a drift boat and river guide leading canoes for each group. Drift boats and canoes were generously donated by Hayward Fly Fishing Company and Canoes on Wheels. The cleanup was organized by the National Park Service and the Namekagon River Partnership, a citizen-volunteer organization working to celebrate and conserve the Namekagon River.

Wood turtle, a threatened species in Wisconsin

Just half the trash that was collected on the Namekagon

A week later, at the other end of the park, twenty-two volunteers gathered to pick up litter at the St. Croix Boom Site and Fairy Falls area near Stillwater. Six bags of trash were collected across the two sites. The group is part of a volunteer site monitoring program and will visit the sites periodically throughout the season on behalf of the respective management entities, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. Friends of the St. Croix Boom Site is partnering with the two agencies on the program. To get involved in the effort, contact Jonathan at jonathan_moore@nps.gov or 715-491-6839.