The San Joaquin River Riparian Habitat Restoration Program (Restoration Program) Management Team is sponsoring a 149-mile cleanup of the San Joaquin River over the course of a 3 "Community Cleanup Day" period beginning Saturday, May 31, 2003. The Restoration Program Management Team is made up of representatives from Reclamation, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Friant Water Users Authority, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Association, and the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors Water Authority.

The Community Cleanup Days will take place in recognition of National River Cleanup Week and will focus on cleaning up specific areas of the San Joaquin River between Friant Dam and the Merced River confluence. Individuals from organizations and the surrounding communities will clean up more than 40 designated locations. Reclamation will participate as part of the National "Take Pride in America" campaign where Federal agencies partner with local organizations and citizens to improve surrounding communities and as a part of the statewide "Keep California Beautiful" campaign.

Site coordinators from a variety of Federal, State, county, non-profit organizations, and local businesses have designed a Community Cleanup Day program for interested citizens to volunteer to improve their reach of the San Joaquin River. Volunteers will have assistance from water and levee districts, water authorities, and private landowners. In addition, the California Conservation Corps to assist with difficult trash removal. Once the community cleanup is completed, efforts will be pursued to support programs that encourage the public to keep the San Joaquin River free of trash.

The Community Cleanup Days are Saturday, May 31, 2003, Saturday, June 7, 2003, and Saturday, September 20, 2003. The September 20 Community Cleanup Day will take place to coincide with National Public Lands Day and the California Coastal Commission's Clean Up Day for shorelines, beaches, rivers, and inland waters.

To sign up as a volunteer, please contact Valerie Curley at Reclamation's Fresno office, 559-487-5255, or by e-mail at: vcurley@mp.usbr.gov no later than 2 weeks before the cleanup event you wish to participate in.

The entities partnering with the Restoration Program Management Team to plan this effort are:

- Burkhart Farms - California Conservation Corps - California Dept. of Fish and Game - California Dept. of Water Resources - Columbia Canal Company - Firebaugh Canal Water District - Lower San Joaquin Levee District - Merced County - Millerton Area Watershed Coalition -(CALFED) - Newhall Land and Farming - RiverTree Volunteers - San Joaquin River Conservancy - San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust, Inc.