Snake River Cleanup Planned

A trash cleanup along one of the more popular stretches of the Snake River is planned for Saturday, April 23, beginning at 9:00a.m. Additional volunteers are needed to help with this effort, sponsored by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. Food and refreshments will be provided, so volunteers should RSVP to Fish and Game utility craftsman Dennis Hardy at the Fish and Game Nampa office, 465-8465. Hearty volunteers should wear boots and gloves and plan to meet at Fish and Game's Map Rock site, located 6.5 miles west of the intersection of Map Rock Road and State Highway 45 at 9:00 that morning. The project should be completed by early afternoon. The river cleanup will be conducted from the Walter's Ferry bridge downstream to the Marsing bridge. "A few workers will be assigned to boats for a portion of the cleanup effort," Hardy noted. "But most of the volunteers - and we hope to have a bunch of them - will be working along the banks of the river." Trash will be hauled to a central location for transport to a landfill. Because of a waterfowl nesting closure, federally-owned islands on the Snake River will not be part of the trash collection effort this year. Past cleanup efforts along this same stretch of river have netted more than six tons of trash, including all types of furniture, appliances and even a safe, stolen from an area business. Area landowners are encouraged to note the cleanup effort date. "We wanted to inform land owners in advance of the activities planned for that day," Hardy noted. "So when they see a flurry of activity along the river, they will know what's going on." For more information regarding the Snake River cleanup, contact Hardy at Fish and Game's Southwest region office, 465-8465.