From the Headwaters to Bridgeport: Cleaning Up the Yuba

SYRCL is known for its annual cleanup each fall, but this year we are engaging in more year-round efforts that extend from the headwaters to the most popular river crossings.

In just a week, SYRCL staff and volunteers picked up over 1,000 pounds of trash from along the Yuba. These cleanup efforts are important to protecting the Yuba and keeping it clean for us all. As we have written about previously, these efforts are extra important during times of drought.

Adopt-A-Highway Cleanup

On Wednesday, June 30, a group of 6 staff and volunteers drove to a stretch of Interstate 80 that crosses over the river. 

Armed with pickers, hardhats, safety vests, and trash bags, the team picked up everything from plastic bottles to tire chains to discarded clothing from the drainages that run into the South Yuba. 

Altogether, the team pulled out approximately 600 pounds of trash!

River Ambassadors

Friday through Monday of the Fourth of July holiday weekend, River Ambassadors set up booths at Highway 49 and Bridgeport river crossings. In addition to educating visitors about the importance of packing out what they pack in and leaving their BBQs in the car, each team of volunteers walked the trails picking up trash. 

Each day, they found plastic bottles, dog waste, and food wrappers. In total, River Ambassadors collected close to 40 pounds of trash and 10 pounds of recycling over the course of the holiday weekend.

Post-Independence Day Cleanup

On Monday, July 5, nine volunteers participated in a post-Independence Day Cleanup event. While volunteers at Highway 49 found relatively little trash, those at Bridgeport hauled out over 15 bags of trash left by Fourth of July gatherings.

California State Parks employees also worked hard this weekend to collect a large amount of trash at South Yuba River State Park. The overflowing trash cans pictured on the left show what was collected from just one site, Kneebone Beach.

While we have had success educating visitors with the River Ambassador program, we still have much more to do and many more people to reach. If you want to sign up to be a River Ambassador or clean the river one weekend, you can do so below.

Register for River Ambassador Training July 14


Register for River Ambassador Volunteer Shifts