​Events

2019 Friends of Pool 9 Annual Mississippi River Cleanup on Hold

The Friends of Pool 9 Board of Directors have made the decision to postpone the Annual Pool 9 River Cleanup because of higher than normal water levels. The Board will select a date when river conditions are safe for those venturing out onto the river. The Mississippi River at the Lansing gauge station reached almost 18 feet in early April and is dropping slowly. The presence or absence of spring rains will dictate when and if there is a clean up of Pool 9 this year. The Board is considering a possible clean update in May or June.

In 2018, the 136 volunteers collected and removed 11,000 pounds of debris from the river corridor. Over the years Friends of Pool 9 members have removed more than 151,000 pounds (75 tons) of debris on the cleanups and recorded 8,755 hours of volunteer time, for the 31 mile-long Pool 9 of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. This represents a tremendous effort and commitment by a loyal group of concerned individuals and is greatly appreciated. When a decision is made by the Board to have a Clean Up we will let you know, and hope you can join us in cleaning and protecting our valuable natural resource. We can not do this without you.