WLKM Radio 95.9 FM
The eighth consecutive year of the St. Joseph County Conservation District’s River Cleanup will see more than 25 miles of waterways covered this summer.
Six events beginning in June and ending in early August will await conservation district employees and what director Carolyn Grace hopes is a strong number of volunteers.
The six dates in 2018 begin June 2 over a 5.6-mile stretch of the Fawn River. The work on the Fawn River continues June 16 with a 4.4-mile paddle that concludes at Big Hill Road in Fawn River Township.
The June portion of the season concludes June 30 with a 3.4-mile route down the Nottawa Creek from Rawson’s King Mill to M-66 in Leonidas Township.
Grace said the July 9 cleanup of a stretch of the Portage River will be a weekday cleanup, scheduled at the request of prospective participants who are too busy on weekends to help.
A 4.3-mile stretch of the Rocky River is on the agenda for July 21 and the St. Joseph River will see the season’s final cleanup Aug. 4 over 3.6 miles in Constantine Township.
In addition, employee volunteers from Abbott Labs in Sturgis and International Paper in Three Rivers will take advantage of an employer-incentive offer and spend half a day participating in a river cleanup.
International’s team will hit the river in July and Abbott’s crew will be on the water in September, Grace said.
