ALBANY - The 20th annual Sugar River Cleanup, sponsored and organized each year by The Lake Winnetka/Sugar River Improvement Association Inc., was held on May 17. It was registered as part of the American Rivers National River Cleanup.
Since the first Sugar River Cleanup in 1994, the L.W.S.R.I.A. organized the clean up and attracted many volunteers and organizations. But 2014 marks the first year that two additional Sugar River Associations, the Decatur Lake Millrace Association and The Lower Sugar River Watershed Association, have collaborated in the effort.
With multiple groups working the cleanup, areas of the river were split into sections, with the L.W.S.R.I.A. covering the north areas and the D.L.M.R.A. and L.S.R.W.A. covering the south areas.
Close to 40 total river miles were covered by the cleanup. The northern section consisted of the Little Sugar River from Schneeburger Road to Lake Winnetka and the Big Sugar River from County X to the lake, including a part of Allen Creek, and the main branch of the Sugar River, including Lake Winnetka all the way to the Sweet Minihaha Campgrounds. The southern section covered areas from Sweet Minihaha, south through Decatur Lake, including the various backwaters at its headwaters and splitting up at the Decatur Lake dam into two groups with one that continued down the main branch and the other covering the Millrace through the Head-gates, Putnam Park and the Tailrace beyond the old powerhouse.
The two groups then rejoined at the Crazy Horse Campgrounds. This was the first time the Sugar River Cleanup covered the Tailrace, between the powerhouse and the confluence, with the main branch near Camp Crazy Horse, and only the second time the section of the main branch from the Decatur Lake Dam and Camp Crazy Horse was covered.
Most of the trash, which filled more than a dumpster, consisted of beer cans, pop cans, food containers and tires. Unusual items found included an agricultural food stanchion, a TV, bedsprings, house doors, doorknobs, a ladder, a metal chair, parts of a stove and a kitchen sink.
About 80 volunteers worked at the cleanup, with ages ranging from 2 to 83 years old, performing a variety of different functions. Some walked the riverbanks, under bridges or trails, while others paddled in canoes with long-handle dip nets to gather the trash. Others worked from Jon boats, cutting fallen trees that blocked navigation using chain saws.
Another issue that was addressed this year was the removal of an old, dilapidated cabin/boathouse from the river and the bank where it once stood; it had since been abandoned by a previous owner. With permission and help from the new landowner, several boatloads of rotten lumber, glass and pipe were removed.
The DNR provided the dumpster for all the trash and the game warden came out with a deputy and a boat to help haul larger items from the river. The Albany Fire Department provided the use of their sign; the police chief provided help to get volunteers; and the Albany Harvest Center provided over 30 volunteers from their group to help with everything from setting up the base station to cutting trees.
The associations are open for membership. For more information on the L.W.S.R.I.A., email lwsria@aol.com; write P.O. Box 348, Albany, WI 53502; call 608-862-1698; or visit www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-WinnetkaSugar-River-Improvement-Association-Inc/374367135943433. For more information on the D.L.M.R.A., visit www.dlmra.org. For more information on the L.S.R.W.A., visit www.lsrwa.org.
The 2015 Sugar River Cleanup will be tentatively held on May 16.
Since the first Sugar River Cleanup in 1994, the L.W.S.R.I.A. organized the clean up and attracted many volunteers and organizations. But 2014 marks the first year that two additional Sugar River Associations, the Decatur Lake Millrace Association and The Lower Sugar River Watershed Association, have collaborated in the effort.
With multiple groups working the cleanup, areas of the river were split into sections, with the L.W.S.R.I.A. covering the north areas and the D.L.M.R.A. and L.S.R.W.A. covering the south areas.
Close to 40 total river miles were covered by the cleanup. The northern section consisted of the Little Sugar River from Schneeburger Road to Lake Winnetka and the Big Sugar River from County X to the lake, including a part of Allen Creek, and the main branch of the Sugar River, including Lake Winnetka all the way to the Sweet Minihaha Campgrounds. The southern section covered areas from Sweet Minihaha, south through Decatur Lake, including the various backwaters at its headwaters and splitting up at the Decatur Lake dam into two groups with one that continued down the main branch and the other covering the Millrace through the Head-gates, Putnam Park and the Tailrace beyond the old powerhouse.
The two groups then rejoined at the Crazy Horse Campgrounds. This was the first time the Sugar River Cleanup covered the Tailrace, between the powerhouse and the confluence, with the main branch near Camp Crazy Horse, and only the second time the section of the main branch from the Decatur Lake Dam and Camp Crazy Horse was covered.
Most of the trash, which filled more than a dumpster, consisted of beer cans, pop cans, food containers and tires. Unusual items found included an agricultural food stanchion, a TV, bedsprings, house doors, doorknobs, a ladder, a metal chair, parts of a stove and a kitchen sink.
About 80 volunteers worked at the cleanup, with ages ranging from 2 to 83 years old, performing a variety of different functions. Some walked the riverbanks, under bridges or trails, while others paddled in canoes with long-handle dip nets to gather the trash. Others worked from Jon boats, cutting fallen trees that blocked navigation using chain saws.
Another issue that was addressed this year was the removal of an old, dilapidated cabin/boathouse from the river and the bank where it once stood; it had since been abandoned by a previous owner. With permission and help from the new landowner, several boatloads of rotten lumber, glass and pipe were removed.
The DNR provided the dumpster for all the trash and the game warden came out with a deputy and a boat to help haul larger items from the river. The Albany Fire Department provided the use of their sign; the police chief provided help to get volunteers; and the Albany Harvest Center provided over 30 volunteers from their group to help with everything from setting up the base station to cutting trees.
The associations are open for membership. For more information on the L.W.S.R.I.A., email lwsria@aol.com; write P.O. Box 348, Albany, WI 53502; call 608-862-1698; or visit www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-WinnetkaSugar-River-Improvement-Association-Inc/374367135943433. For more information on the D.L.M.R.A., visit www.dlmra.org. For more information on the L.S.R.W.A., visit www.lsrwa.org.
The 2015 Sugar River Cleanup will be tentatively held on May 16.
