WARREN - Organizers are planning for a larger Conewango Creek cleanup this year.
Tom Osborne, vice chairman of the Conewango Creek Watershed Association, said volunteers will start on Sept. 11 in Frewsburg and finish at Point Park. The targeted cleanup area is four times the size of last year's first effort, he said.
Elizabeth Dropp, association board member, said volunteers will leave from a boat launch where Route 394 crosses the creek.
The trip will have four sections, she said, with participants dividing up to cover each of them.
"Last year's section is still relatively nice," Osborne said. "It's obvious which parts were not included because they need help."
Besides the scope, Osborne said the event will see an increase in participation. Of the 60 volunteers last year, he said virtually all will return and join 40 new ones.
Dropp said after last year's cleanup someone asked her where she lived. She told him she came from the Chandlers Valley area.
"I explained how we're interconnected," Dropp said. "That's part of the watershed concept."
Volunteers don't have to get in the water, Osborne said, as they can instead drive vans and wash boats. Even if someone has only one hour, he said organizers will find a job to fit that time frame.
In addition to eliminating trash in the creek, Osborne said the event will allow people to see the waterway trail. Last year's cleanup gained national recognition, he said, as the magazine Outdoor Life mentioned the event.
People believe the creek's muddy appearance signifies pollution, Dropp said. However, she said the creek's geology makes it look that way.
The average person doesn't realize the creek contains 71 species of fish, Osborne said, which include the paddlefish and river burbot. In addition, he said beaver, otter and muskrats live along the creek.
Volunteers can register to participate in the cleanup at 8 a.m. in Larimer Field in Russell; the work will be done between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. and a free lunch will be held at 2 p.m. at Larimer.
To participate in the cleanup, contact Osborne at 688-7647 or Dropp at 489-3322. The association's website is www.conewangocreek.org.
