Facing high water, river cleanup group changes course

BRIGHTON — Hundreds of volunteers planning to paddle the Skunk River to fish out junk and debris this week have changed plans, in light of high water levels that organizers said presented a safety hazard.

Instead, group members — of whom there are about 284 — will clean up in areas spanning the watershed, but not necessarily in the Skunk River every day. Iowa Project AWARE Event Director Nina Marquardt said volunteers would continue to adapt their plans throughout the week.

On Monday, volunteers ventured around Lake Darling State Park, rather than the first stretch of the Skunk River as scheduled. On Tuesday, they took the trip initially planned for Monday, as other crews scouted nearby creeks.

“We just want to make sure that safety is our number one priority,” Marquardt said. “We have a lot of kids here and we pride ourselves on being a family-friendly event … when it’s too high and too fast, the rescues get more dangerous, and we don’t want them to be in a situation where they can’t get back in the canoe.”

While the group hasn’t announced its destination yet for summer of 2025, Marquardt said project AWARE wouldn’t return to the Skunk River, despite downsizing plans for the waterway this year.

While they won’t necessarily travel the entire 75-mile course of the Skunk River, Marquardt said volunteers would still have a positive impact on the area as they pick up trash from some parts of the waterway, as well as its tributaries, and help remove invasive species from Lake Darling State Park.

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“We’re still getting some good work done and having a good time, it’s just not quite as we anticipated,” she said. “Right now, we kind of are at the mercy of the water, unfortunately … even though we’re not on the Skunk, we’re still in the Skunk Watershed, and all of the programs, we’ve tried to focus on the Skunk Watershed.”

Free educational programs held for the volunteers and any members of the public on afternoons and evenings will continue as planned, however, according to Marquardt. And the cleanup teams kept their camping schedule at Lake Darling Monday and Tuesday, and planned to stay at Oakland Mills Park Wednesday before moving to the Old Threshers Campground Thursday.

A schedule for the programs is available at IowaProjectAWARE.org.

“If people want to join the madness for a little bit, they are more than welcome to!” Marquardt said.

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com