Annual River Clean-Up by Friends of Pool 9 on hold due to high river levels

Possible May or June dates being considered for event rescheduling

The Friends of Pool 9 Board of Directors has made the decision to postpone the Annual Pool 9 River Clean-Up because of higher than normal water levels on the Mississippi River. The board will select a date when river conditions are safe for those venturing out onto the river.

The Mississippi River at the Lansing gauge station reached almost 18 feet in early April and has been dropping slowly. The presence or absence of spring rains will dictate when and if there is a clean-up of Pool 9 this year. The board is considering a possible clean-up date in May or June of this year.

In 2018, the 136 volunteers who took part in the annual clean-up effort collected and removed 11,000 pounds of debris from the river corridor. Over the years, Friends of Pool 9 members have removed more than 151,000 pounds (75 tons) of debris on the clean-ups and recorded 8,755 hours of volunteer time for the 31-mile length of Pool 9 of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge.

“This represents a tremendous effort and commitment by a loyal group of concerned individuals, and is greatly appreciated,” Friends of Pool 9 River Clean-Up leaders expressed. “When a decision is made by the board to have a Clean-Up, this spring we will let you know, and we hope you can join us in cleaning and protecting our valuable natural resource. We can not do this without you.”