Volunteers make a difference during Friends of Pool 9 River Clean-up
Oh, buoy! ... The Bob Henkel boat retrieved a 300-pound green navigation buoy that had been crushed and twisted by a tow-boat. The buoy is part of 500 pounds of metal that was recovered during the Friends of Pool 9 River Clean-Up Day Saturday, April 21 and will be recycled. Submitted photo.
Never too early to learn ... Young Wyatt Henkel helps unload debris from his dad’s boat, along with (left to right) Lance Welsh, Bob Henkel, Jr. and Ben Verdon. More than 130 volunteers took part in the Friends of Pool 9 River Clean-Up Day Saturday, April 21. Submitted photo.
submitted by Friends of Pool 9
On a slightly questionable weather day with cool temperatures, moderate stream flow and rising water levels, a group of volunteers gathered at all ends of Pool 9 to help clean the Mississippi River corridor, for the 13th year.
While many would find something else to do on a day like this, these folks put on their life jackets, boated out and waded into the Mississippi. They walked the Highway 82 dike, scoured area beaches, cleaned and sifted fire rings, walked the boat landings and the perimeter of Pool 9, and boated into the backwater depths to retrieve as much of the unwanted man-made debris as possible. Such is the desire and persistence of this bunch of volunteers from northeast Iowa, western Wisconsin and other places unknown.
Collection sites located at Brennan Landing in Lansing, Black Hawk Park and Ferryville City Landing were bustling with activity. The attendance count from all sites tallied slightly over 130 volunteers. Friends of Pool 9 provided gloves, water, garbage bags, a colorful t-shirt, and lunch for all. As a result, more than 11,000 pounds of debris was removed from the river islands and backwater.
Strange items always appear on these clean-ups, and this year was no different. Volunteers found three computer laptops, two living room chairs, a television, lots of plastic flotation barrels, tires still on rims, the head of a mannequin, and, of course, hundreds of plastic bottles.
Clean-up Committee Chairman Bob Seeley complimented the energy created by volunteers for the success of the day. “Where else along the Mississippi could you find this kind of support to clean the river - nowhere else. These people are special, this Friends of Pool 9 bunch, they really care for the river and want to leave something good for future generations.”
The event was, after all, scheduled for Earth Day weekend as it has been in past years, to help find debris not yet covered by grass and weeds. Families large and small, individuals and friends, river-rats and city folk, some boaters and some walkers, most from the immediate area but others from hundreds of miles away; all embraced the opportunity to do something good.
“There are few places along this great river valley where individuals come together and spend four hours collecting, lifting and dragging unwanted items from the basin, but this is one of those places,” Friends of Pool 9 leaders commented. “The work and commitment of one is multiplied a hundred times over, and the result is spectacular.”
Partial poundage data for this year’s clean-up effort shows 6,420 pounds collected at the Lansing dumpster and another 3,420 pounds at Black Hawk Park, with the Ferryville, WI dumpster yet to be weighed. In addition, an Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) truck picked up 300 pounds of debris at Army Road Landing, and 500 pounds of metal was recycled.
As of 2017, Friends of Pool 9 (FOP9) volunteers had collected 140,000 pounds of debris and recorded 7,925 hours of clean-up over the years. This year’s totals will push the poundage total well over 151,000 pounds (75 tons) of debris from Pool 9 for the 13 years, and the group will recorded in excess of 8,600 volunteer hours for the clean-up project.
The event was the result of cooperation from the Lansing VFW, Brennan Construction, Allamakee County Waste Management/Town and Country Sanitation, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Black Hawk Park, Prairie du Chien Waste Management and Vernon County Waste Management.
Friends of Pool 9, Upper Mississippi Refuge is an 800-member non-profit 501(c)3 organization with the specific goal of making the 31-mile long pool one of the best on the Upper Mississippi River. The group also sponsors educational activities for youth, records eagle data, plants trees on the river islands, assists at Genoa National Fish Hatchery and supports community projects associated with the river. Funds to support the group’s activities come from corporate and individual donations, memorial gifts and funds raised at the FOP9 annual meeting in September.
