What:            The seventh annual Smith Lake Renew Our Rivers cleanup is Wednesday and Thursday, June 27-28. The cleanup will operate out of the U.S. Forest Service Houston Recreation Area Boat Launch.  Volunteers should meet there at 8 a.m. each day to remove trash and discarded items from the lake. This cleanup is coordinated by the Forest Service and Winston County Smith Lake Advocacy. In 2011, volunteers removed 5 tons of debris  from Smith Lake and more than 670 tons have been removed since  2006. No plastic, foam or boathouses will be accepted. Only trash from the sloughs of Smith Lake will be collected.

Overview:      Volunteers for Renew Our Rivers, one of the Southeast’s largest

river cleanups, have collected more than 12 million pounds of trash and debris since the program’s inception in 2000. This year, 29 cleanups are planned through October on the Alabama, Black Warrior, Cahaba, Chattahoochee, Coosa, Mobile and Tallapoosa rivers.

Directions:     Houston Recreation Area is located off Winston County Road 61 in Houston. From U.S. 278, travel south 2 miles on County Road 63. Bear right at the road fork in Houston onto County Road 61. Turn right on Forest Service Road 118, which leads to the Houston Recreation Area.

Contact:         Volunteers should contact Allison Cochran with the Forest Service at 205-489-5111.