Submitted to OnFocus – For the third year in a row, on the morning of April 17 in honor of Earth Day, the Clark County Chapter of the Friends of the Black River gathered 38 volunteers from around Clark County to clean up the Black River along with surrounding woods and shoreline in Neillsville, adding Owen and Greenwood.
The result? They collected more than 50 tires, several TVs, a mattress, several trailers of metal, about 50 cubic yards of trash and a refrigerator at sites spanning from Wedges Creek to the City of Owen, including Cunningham Creek, O’Neill Creek, the Popple River, and the Winx Flowage.
The chapter founder and president, Adam Marciniak, formed the group in late fall of 2018. Since then, they have organized and conducted five cleanups, hosted in person informational meetings (pre-pandemic), and began hosting free area kayak and canoe paddles, with several planned for this spring and summer in coordination with the Friends of the Black River in Jackson County.
Marciniak initiated their latest project to install aluminum information signs at the more improved landing sites in the county. What started as two locations has quickly grown to 27, including the Black River, Lake Arbutus, the East Fork of the Black River, Wedges Creek and several others in Jackson County.
Aluminum signs designate the site, include distances and travel times on the river, where to find flow rate information, location of rapids and their classification of difficulty. Most locations will also have a trash bag dispenser, brochure holder and information about the organization. Marciniak hopes to have it completed by the end of summer.
“I am very grateful to area residents Dan Moore, Jeff Polzin and Terry Rand for all their help and support in organizing our spring Earth Day and fall cleanups and free paddle events,” Marciniak said. “And, a huge thank you to all the participants who help make our cleanups and paddles successful. My vision is to replicate what we do in Clark County with groups throughout the span of the Black River. We welcome anyone who wants to join our efforts.”
Earth Day was launched by the late Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson on April 22, 1970, to address the widespread pollution throughout the country. Events are hosted every year by conservation and environmental groups throughout the state and country.
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