The Great Sierra River Cleanup (GSRC) is a Sierra-wide watershed cleanup event coordinated annually by the Sierra Nevada Alliance in collaboration with the California Coastal Commission’s Callifornia’s Coastal Cleanup Day. 

On September 21, the Alliance was able to expand the efforts of these cleanups by having 21 organizations host a cleanup in honor of the GSRC, spanning as far North as Plumas County with the Friends of Plumas Wilderness to as South as Inyo County with the Eastern Sierra Land Trust. Volunteers who came to these cleanups helped gather data on what trash they were picking up close to their waterways. Current numbers show 685 volunteers picked up 6162.83 pounds of trash and an additional 88 pounds of recyclables from 30 miles of the Sierra Nevada waterways. 

Here are a couple spotlights from events held during the GSRC:

In Mariposa County, the Upper Merced Watershed Council had 21 volunteers pick up 422 pounds of trash from 11 miles of the Merced River. They even had the chance to see a beaver enjoying a swim on the river.  At both South Lake Tahoe cleanups hosted by Keep Tahoe Blue and the Tahoe Area Sierra Club, volunteers received GSRC t-shirts as a thank you for coming out to volunteer and pick up 128.25 pounds of trash and 10 pounds of recyclables. 

The Sierra Nevada Alliance would like to thank the organizations that participated this year and hosted a cleanup.