Events and Activities : Cedar River R.A.T.S. at it Again

The Cedar River R.A.T.S. are preparing for the 3rd annual Cedar River Clean up on Saturday, August 7th.

This year's route will start at the northern most part of Benton County's 23 miles of Cedar, at the Mt. Auburn boat ramp and will continue down all the way to the Vinton Bridge boat ramp.

Totaling almost 12.5 miles.

The group will meet at the Mt. Auburn ramp and instructions and materials will be given to each volunteer on site. Along the way, the group will stop at Patten's Cedar River Access where Martha Long and her crew will once again serve a delicious lunch. At this stop, all debris and refuse that has been collected will be offloaded into awaiting pickups for hauling to the end site.

Anyone with a boat, canoe or kayak that would like to participate in this 3rd annual locally environmental effort, should plan to be at the Mt. Auburn ramp on Saturday, August 7th by 8:45a.m.

During the first two cleanups debris from as small cans/bottles to as large as a water heater and a 50-gallon drum of used anti-freeze has been pulled from the Cedar. Our local enthusiasts are striving to increase the attraction to our Cedar River, and one of the ways to do this is to improve its quality; both aesthetically for those that enjoy it, and environmentally for its habitat.

With the Cedar River recently being named among the top ten WORST rivers in the entire United States, it is more important than ever for us to make every effort to continue striving for better quality and better education for those that take advantage of it for recreation purposes.

The R.A.T.S. crew needs volunteers with pickups to meet the boaters at Minne Estema and again at Patten's Cedar River Access between Vinton and Mt. Auburn. The "Pick Up Crews" will be needed to take the debris that has been collected to the dump trailer stationed at the Vinton Boat Ramp. Approximate times needed would be Minne Estema at 10:00 and Patten's Cedar River Access at approximately noon.

If you would like more information about this project and how you can help, please call Tami Stark @ 558-7476 or Bob Mahood @ 560-9071.