Deschutes River Cleanup - Upper Deschutes Watershed Council

Deschutes River Cleanup

Photo: Wahoo Films

Thank you!

Thanks to hundreds of community volunteers, incredible local partners, and our generous financial sponsors, our 28th annual Deschutes River Cleanup on Saturday, July 27th was truly the very best ever! River cleanup activities were coordinated at six different sites on the Deschutes River where volunteers helped pull invasive weeds, removed litter from stream banks, and paddlers and scuba divers extracted debris from the river channel. It was a big day filled with stewardship, smiles, and sweat and it all ended with a whole lot of appreciation for what a watershed community can accomplish when we come together for the river.

Kudos to Central Oregon Diving and Deschutes County Search and Rescue for safely coordinating all of the scuba divers and paddlers. The instream debris component of the river cleanup would not be possible without their help! Our title sponsors were the City of Bend, Bend Park and Recreation District, Tumalo Creek, Sun Country Tours and Mt. Bachelor, Qorvo, SOLV Energy, and Visit Bend. Huge thanks to all of our sponsors and REI, LUNO, the Greater Bend Rotary, LaPine State Park, Sunriver Chamber of Commerce, and Leadership Bend for dedicating their time and energy to make such a rewarding day of stewardship possible!

Finally, thanks to Confluence Fly Shop for creating the beautiful artwork for the event outreach materials and contributing to our volunteer appreciation event. Thank you!!

The Deschutes River Cleanup is an annual opportunity for us to come together to steward the Deschutes River and its riparian areas. Recreation in and around the Deschutes River has led to significant impacts to the health of the river and, in order to keep our river beautiful and protect water quality for fish and wildlife, the Watershed Council coordinates the Deschutes River Cleanup every year. Stay tuned and be sure to join us next summer!

If you were not able to participate in the cleanup, you can still do your part to take care of our river by making a donation. $20 will buy four pairs of gloves for next year’s cleanup and $100 will buy waders for volunteers to pull debris out of the Deschutes River. Make your contribution today!

Thank you to our 2024 Sponsors!

Headwaters Sponsors

River Sponsors