Austin Rotoract member Jesse Ledesma stacks a tire onto a canoe during Rotaract’s second year of cleaning up the Cedar River. The cleanup is part of the DNR’s Adopt-a-River program, locally employed by the Cedar River Watershed District. -- Photo provided

While continuing to grow, the local “Adopt-A-River” effort organized by the Cedar River Watershed District already is underway with a new season of removing garbage and debris. After a successful first year in 2011 — and with three additional cleanup routes adopted this year — the CRWD is continuing its efforts to line up volunteers. The local effort uses the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ Adopt-A-River program as its guide.

Last Saturday, the Austin Rotaract started the second season of river cleanups by scouring its adopted route from the Ramsey Dam on Austin’s north edge to Mill Pond downtown. About 10 volunteers filled and emptied seven canoes during their cleanup — twice.

“We are very encouraged by the strong interest shown by volunteer groups to adopt cleanup routes as well as by the significant amount of garbage they are removing from the Cedar River,” said Justin Hanson, the CRWD’s resource specialist. “Their work is making a big difference.”

Three groups and families adopted additional routes in 2012, leaving just two unadopted sections on the Cedar in Mower.

More than 25 miles of the Cedar River has been adopted since 2011 for cleanup efforts from Mower County’s north border to near the Iowa border. The Austin Izaak Walton League has now adopted a route, as well.

“Adopt-a-River fits perfectly into our overall strategy to ‘clean up’ the Cedar River in Mower County,” said Dave Cole, secretary and media outreach coordinator for the Austin Ikes.

James Surdy, who helped lead Rotaract’s cleanup, said the group saw and picked up significantly less garbage than in its first year. Yet much remains.

“We pulled everything out from parts of old boat docks, all kinds of old tires, a very large and heavy pool filtration system, huge chunks of metal wire as well as the usual bottles, glasses, garbage bags and other debris,” Surdy said.

Many items were too big to remove, Surdy said, but Rotaract plans another cleanup this summer with boats to handle those items, such as a cattle watering tank, couch, boat docks and a boat trailer.

Rotaract was one of nine groups in 2011 that adopted cleanup routes created by the CRWD staff. Eight of those groups conducted at least one cleanup during the year, involving about 50 volunteers and removing thousands of pounds of garbage and debris from the Cedar River, including one crew that removed about 120 tires south of Austin.

Past and current CRWD board members are jumping on board with the program, too.

CRWD officials still need volunteers to adopt the two remaining stretches of the Cedar River as well as anyone interested in adopting sections of Dobbins and Turtle creeks. Anyone interested in cleaning up the rivers can contact Tim Ruzek, the CRWD’s public outreach coordinator, at 507-993-2518 or tim.ruzek@cedarriverwd.org.