1960Every summer since
The annual river clean-up
A float trip with a purpose.
Once a year the club picks a stretch of Ozark river, camps on it for a weekend, and floats it slowly with empty canoes that come out full. Tires, coolers, cans, lawn chairs, the occasional refrigerator: if it does not belong in the river, it comes out in a boat. The tradition began in 1960, made the Associated Press wire in 1970 with a photo of the haul from the Current River, and has not missed a year.
It is also the best weekend of the year to meet the club. Everyone comes, the work is shared, and the evening around camp is earned.
This year
The next clean-up
Bring gloves, old shoes, and a boat if you have one.
- River
- To be announced
- Dates
- To be announced
- Leader
- See the newsletter
The river and dates are chosen each spring and announced at the Second Saturday meeting and in the newsletter. Non-members are welcome to join the clean-up.
Missouri Stream Team #41
Watching over the Blue River
When Missouri created its volunteer Stream Team program, OWWC signed up early, becoming Stream Team #41 on June 13, 1989. The club adopted the Blue River, which rises in Johnson County, Kansas, and winds through Swope Park and the east side of Kansas City on its way to the Missouri.
Volunteers trained through the program collect water-quality data at set sites on the Blue, keep an eye on the stream through the seasons, and report what they find to the state. Members have also staffed educational displays at schools, fairs, and events, and written and taught about the river for years.
Want to help? Stream Team training is free and open to anyone. Ask at a meeting and a member will get you started.
“It’s hard work, but we are blessed with such beautiful streams in Missouri; it is easy to give back by taking care of a few of them.”
Judith Guyn, OWWC member, in Missouri Conservationist, June 2007
A longer view
Speaking up for wild rivers
The club’s founder helped start American Whitewater and argued for the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Members worked with the Ozark Society to save the Buffalo River from damming. That tradition continues in quieter ways: showing up for public comment, supporting the groups that protect the Ozarks, and teaching new paddlers to leave no trace.
- Missouri Stream TeamTraining, monitoring, and clean-up support for volunteers.
- American WhitewaterNational river conservation, co-founded by Oz Hawksley.
- The Ozark SocietyGuardians of the Buffalo National River since 1962.
- Ozark National Scenic RiverwaysThe Current and Jacks Fork, protected since 1964.