Article Photos

Scenic river tour meets environmental stewardship meets an endurance adventure.

That's the best way to describe the 2009 Allegheny River Clean-Up.

The brain-child of local livery owner Piper Lindell, the clean-up was a five-day undertaking to remove trash from 31 miles of the Allegheny River stretching from Kinzua Dam to Tidioute. All in all, it took about 300 people over the course of the week to get the job done.

The culmination of the event took place Saturday with the section of the river from the Buckaloons Recreation Area to Indian Waters Canoe and Kayak, which was last leg of "unclean" territory. About 100 volunteers, most in canoes and boats, searched the shore, islands, and sometimes murky water for items others left behind.

Kristy Waite and her canoe-mate Carmen Bevacqua, both members of the Young Professionals of Warren County, docked their vessel and scoured the shored.

"We found mostly cans and bottles," Waite said.

Jim and Kathy Decker found a few more substantial items, including a large antenna, a metal sign, a refrigerator and parts of a stove.

Some found trash beneath the water's surface. Matt Hoffman got out his canoe, leaving his work partner Jacque Caringola in the vessel, while his fished out a submerged tire.

The entire clean-up process was a mixed bag of emotions for both Lindell and the volunteers.

Lindell said she was excited to see all of the volunteers pull in at Indian Waters but at the same time, the trash pulled from the water was a reminder of the mindset of others.

"Who knew," she said after the clean-up. "I had no idea it was this gnarly."

Volunteers on the water were treated to a paddle down the Allegheny River under a cloudless blue sky. However, finding trash interrupted the sight-seeing. Spotting trash on the shore, paddlers often had to spring into action and fight the current to retrieve the rubbish.

Volunteers in canoes were aided on the water by Nate Welker of the U.S. Forest Service; John Beard of Northwest Savings Bank; and Josh Lindell, who owns Allegheny Outfitters and Indian Waters with his wife Piper. The three men, with some additional volunteers, operated motorized boats, driving up and down the river to relieve the paddlers of their collected trash. The volunteers on the power boats also retrieved items tagged by the canoeists which were too large for the smaller boats.

Post clean-up, Welker said he warned Piper Lindell of the amount of work that would go into a river clean-up and added, "She was bound and determined that she wanted to do a river clean-up."

After a week of hard work by the Lindells and volunteers, the 2009 Allegheny River Clean-up was deemed a success. Organizers plan to return to the waters next year and do the same all over again.

"I hope next year we only have three or three stoves," Lindell said.