Hundreds of enthusiastic volunteers gathered Saturday along the Deschutes River for the 29th annual Deschutes River Cleanup, hosted by the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council . This beloved community event was an all-ages opportunity for locals to show their love of the river through hands-on restoration and care.
The monumental effort covers six sections and nearly 30 winding miles of the majestic Deschutes River. In La Pine, volunteers collected trash and invasive weeds from the riverbank. Many were genuinely surprised to learn that what looks like a cheerful, bright flower – the Orange hawkweed – is actually a highly noxious and destructive plant. Volunteers wore thick protective gloves and filled heavy bags to their brims with the troublesome weeds.
In Sunriver, volunteers balanced on paddleboards and rowed out in sturdy boats for their challenging task, which involved pulling unsightly trash from both the river and the riparian areas. In previous years, volunteers have discovered a range of surprising items, including rusty beer cans, colorful flip-flops and forgotten sunglasses scattered throughout the water. Interesting finds included several cell phones, a witch’s hat, a Santa hat and (ironically) a trash grabber.
Keeping the river clean is crucial for countless reasons. Kolleen Miller, the knowledgeable Education and Development Director with UDWC, explained: “The overall health of our beautiful river and the exceptional quality of water in the river also contributes to groundwater quantity as well as quality, so it’s really important whenever we’re talking about that people do know that the Deschutes River is truly unique and it’s significant to think about the vital intersection between groundwater and surface water throughout our entire expansive watershed.”
Like in La Pine, volunteers in Bend removed trash and invasive weeds from the overgrown riverbank. They were also joined by 12 volunteer scuba divers who worked with volunteer boaters to collect submerged trash from the murky river. The chilly water, which one experienced diver said was between a brisk 60 and 64 degrees, can pose real dangers for eager volunteers. Leaders from Central Oregon Diving stressed the critical importance of safety in a talk before the launch. The Deschutes County Search and Rescue Foundation was also strategically positioned onsite in case of any emergency.
Several other groups contributed to make the massive event successful, including Tumalo Creek Kayak & Canoe, who loaned out essential gear, as well as the City of Bend and the Oregon Department of Agriculture, which provided valuable training on identifying noxious weeds.
Speaking to the enthusiastic crowd at the Deschutes River Cleanup, UDWC Executive Director Kris Knight said: “This is definitely one of our biggest and most exciting events of the year, but our amazing Watershed Council is really doing important work to take care of the river 365 days out of the year.”
Since 1996, the UDWC has worked to protect and restore the massive 2,000,000-acre upper Deschutes River watershed through innovative collaborative projects in habitat restoration, comprehensive watershed education and long-term monitoring.
This article appears in Source Weekly June 26, 2025.
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