June 4, 2008

What: The third annual Smith Lake cleanup will be held Wednesday, June 11 through Saturday, June 14 in Winston County.  Volunteers with or without boats can meet at 8 a.m. each day at the Corinth recreation area to remove trash from the lake. The cleanup will end Saturday at noon with a picnic lunch.

This Renew Our Rivers cleanup is coordinated by members of the Winston County Smith Lake Advocacy, Bankhead National Forest, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Cradle of Forestry in America Interpretive Association and Alabama Power employees.  In 2007, more than 125 volunteers removed nearly 128 tons of trash and debris from Smith Lake, including unusual finds such as a house boat, an old refrigerator and boat docks.

Overview: Volunteers for Renew Our Rivers, the Southeast’s largest river cleanup campaign, have collected nearly 9 million pounds of trash and debris from Alabama and Southeast rivers since the 2000 inception.  There are 27 cleanups planned through September on the Cahaba, Coosa, Tallapoosa, Black Warrior and Mobile rivers.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Directions: Take Interstate 65 to Cullman and get off at exit 308. Get off the exit ramp on Hwy. 278 headed west. Travel about 30 miles through Addison. Look for County Road 57 and turn left. Travel about three miles to the campground.

Contact: For more information, contact Tom Counts or Allison Cochran at (205) 489-5111 or Linda Atkinson at (205) 387-9999.

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Media Contact: Keisa Sharpe, APC Corporate Communications, (205) 257.4155