Volunteers Needed For Greers Ferry & Little Red River Cleanup

GREERS FERRY LAKE, Ark., Sept. 11– Please reserve Saturday, Sept. 12 on your calendar.  On this day, the 40th Annual Greers Ferry Lake and Little Red River Cleanup will take place on Greers Ferry Lake from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.

This National Public Lands Day event is scheduled for the first Saturday after Labor Day in recognition of the Carl Garner Federal Lands Cleanup Day Act.

Volunteers should check in at any of the lake’s marinas, Little Red River trout docks, The Ozark Angler or the Greers Ferry National Fish Hatchery.

Due to a shortage of party barge transportation, volunteers are encouraged to bring their own boats.  Trash bags will be furnished to all participants at the check-in stations and bagged trash may be left in conspicuous locations along the shoreline to avoid getting volunteered party barges dirty.  Cleanup sponsors will gather bagged trash after the event.

The Little Red River Action Team Chapter 722 of Trout Unlimited will hand out trash bags at The Ozark Angler, located at 659 Wilburn Road, next to Sugarloaf Baptist Church, for folks participating in cleaning up the Little Red River from 8 a.m. to noon.

Participants are encouraged to bring their bagged trash back to The Ozark Angler to keep it from being scattered back down the river during times of generation.  The Ozark Angler also will be hosting a free lunch at noon for
those who helped clean the river.

Service Recycling Inc. will buy aluminum cans at Narrows Park from 9:30 a.m.
to 12:30 p.m.

Lunch and soft drinks will be served to the first 750 volunteers at Narrows Park from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.

Entertainment for 2009 will be Jason Greenlaw and the Groove and Harding concert choirs.

The Greers Ferry Project Office will waive camping fees Sept. 11 and Sept. 12 for individuals and groups participating in the cleanup. Registration at the
gatehouse is required.

Sponsors for the event include the Greers Ferry Lake-Little Red River Association, Greers Ferry National Fish Hatchery, the Army Corps of Engineers, Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Morrilton, Chesapeake Energy, and Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission.

Major contributors include First Electric Cooperative, Heber Springs State Bank, Southwestern Energy, KFFB 106.1 FM, CenterPoint Energy, Yarnells Ice Cream, Save Greers Ferry Lake Inc, Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods, The Ozark Angler and chambers of commerce in Fairfield Bay, Heber Springs, Clinton, Greers Ferry, Searcy, Beebe, Bald Knob, Augusta, and McCrory.

Participating marinas include:  Eden Isle Marina, Fairfield Bay Marina, Heber Springs Marina, Hill Creek Marina, Ison’s Shiloh Marina, and Lacey’s Narrows Marina.

Cleanup sponsors encourage those providing party barges and those who want to sign up for a favorite area to call in before cleanup day.

For lake areas call the Greers Ferry Project Office at 501-362-2416.

For an assigned area along the river, call the Greers Ferry National Fish Hatchery at 501-362-3615 or the Ozark Angler 501-362-3597.

Persons may also adopt an area to keep free of litter year round.