The Upper Deschutes Watershed Council invites you and your team of reporters to help us connect with Central Oregonians about our 29th Annual Deschutes River Cleanup. The Cleanup will take place on Saturday, June 28 and we are launching a large-scale public outreach campaign to raise awareness about responsible recreation on the river and along its trails. “Recreation in and around the Deschutes River has led to significant impacts to the health of the river,” said Upper Deschutes Watershed Council Education Director, Kolleen Miller. “This is a chance for the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council and our community to come together and protect our river so that the fish, plants, and wildlife that depend on this area can survive and thrive.”
The Annual Deschutes River Cleanup will be taking place on Saturday, June 28, from 9am-1pm, and cleanup activities will be occurring at six different sites on the Deschutes River. Registration for the Cleanup will begin on May 1 at restorethedeschutes.org. At the Cleanup, community volunteers and local businesses will help us pull invasive weeds and remove litter from the stream banks and the river itself. The cleanup sites are Farewell Bend Park, First Street Trail, Sunriver, La Pine State Park, Riverbend Park, and Tumalo State Park. The Farewell Bend and Riverbend Park sites will have the largest number of volunteers and will include paddlers and scuba divers from Central Oregon Diving and Deschutes County Search and Rescue.
The Deschutes River Cleanup is an important opportunity for community members to come together to steward the Deschutes River and its riparian areas. Recreation in and around the Deschutes River has led to significant impacts to the health of the river, and in order to keep our river beautiful and protect water quality for fish and wildlife, the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council coordinates the Deschutes River Cleanup every year. Our partners for this year’s event include Oregon State Parks, Sunriver Chamber of Commerce, REI, Luno, Leadership Bend, the Old Mill District, and Greater Bend Rotary. Sponsors for the Deschutes River Cleanup include Mt. Bachelor/Sun Country Tours, Visit Bend, City of Bend, Tumalo Creek, Bend Park and Recreation District, Qorvo, REI, and Confluence Fly Shop. We will be hosting over 200 community members with this inspiring educational and stewardship opportunity for volunteers of all ages throughout Central Oregon. Having your reporting team help us to educate our community about responsible river use will help us to protect the Deschutes River for current and future generations. We hope you can join us to promote the Deschutes River Cleanup with important media coverage prior to June 28th. Contact Kolleen Miller at kmiller@restorethedeschutes.org for more information or pre-event interviews.
What: Our annual day of community stewardship to raise awareness and protect the health of the Deschutes River!
Who: The Upper Deschutes Watershed Council
When: June 28th, 2025 from 9 – 1 pm
Where: Farewell Bend Park (1000 SW Reed Market Rd, Bend, OR 97702) and other streamside locations
Audience: River users, recreation businesses, community members, civic leaders, visitors
