DUMMERSTON — Southeastern Vermont Watershed Alliance is hosting a special river cleanup event to remove trash from the West River and its tributaries.
To volunteer, show up at the Dummerston Covered Bridge parking lot on Saturday, Sept. 23, by 9 a.m., to register and receive supplies and instructions.
The West River rises in the Green Mountains in the town of Mount Holly in southeastern Rutland County and flows southward through southwestern Windsor County into Windham County, where it turns southeast.
Along its course, it flows through or along the boundaries of the towns of Weston, Londonderry, Jamaica, Townshend, Brookline, Newfane (where it collects the Rock River), and Dummerston to Brattleboro, where it flows into the Connecticut River.
Trash in rivers not only creates an eyesore for paddlers and swimmers and other river lovers but also negatively impacts riparian wildlife and adds pollutants to our waters.
“Without pristine, trash-free waters, southeastern Vermont would not be the place that we all love and want to live in,” said Cris White, Alliance president and long-time volunteer sampler for the water quality monitoring program, in a news release.
September is Vermont's River Cleanup Month, when groups throughout the state will pitch in to haul trash from shorelines and riverbeds. The statewide effort is being coordinated by Watersheds United Vermont, a network of local watershed groups, along with Source to Sea of the Connecticut River Conservancy and American Rivers. Local assistance is provided by Triple-T Trucking, for free deposit of trash from the sites cleaned.