City of Boise, other cities and community organizations throughout the Valley are looking for Boise RiverSweep 2008 volunteers

BOISE — Officials from throughout southwest Idaho are asking residents to help clean up the Boise River by participating in the 2008 Boise RiverSweep. The 7th annual event is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday September 13.

Each year, hundreds of volunteers remove trash, aluminum cans, furniture and other litter from a 40-mile stretch of the Boise River from Barber Park into Canyon County. Pre-registration is required by September 5, so volunteers are encouraged to sign up early.

"RiverSweep is a tremendous partnership between the cities and counties of the Treasure Valley and various non-profit organizations,” Boise Mayor David Bieter said. “The Boise River is one of the reasons we have such a livable community. When we roll up our sleeves and work together to keep the river clean, we are living up to our responsibility to preserve this vital resource for future Treasure Valley residents.”

The annual clean up has grown significantly over the past several years. The planning committee now includes the Rocky Mountain Research Station, Partners for Clean Water, the City of Boise, the City of Caldwell, Garden City, Ada County, Canyon County, and Idaho Rivers United. This year the committee announced RiverSweep’s collaboration with two international water sustainability projects: The Ocean Conservancy International Costal Cleanup – a global effort to study trash found in waterways worldwide, and World Water Monitoring day – a global effort to track the health and sustainability of local water systems.

“Citizens understand the bigger importance of water quality,” said Ken Lewis of Idaho Rivers United. “The Boise River provides a growing portion of Boise’s drinking water, it irrigates lawns and farms, it provides habitat for fish and wildlife, and ultimately affects ecosystems far downstream. It is important that we all chip in to protect the river and keep it clean.”

For information on how to register, interested volunteers should visit www.boiseriversweep.org, or:

Trash bags will be provided, but volunteers should bring their own work gloves.