(Columbus, TX) – Members of the Gideon Lincecum Chapter of Texas Master Naturalists helped clean up the Colorado River on Saturday, April 5, 2025. Undaunted by the rain, wind, and cold, the volunteers launched their canoes at the Columbus boat ramp under the Hwy 71 N. Bridge and paddled the horseshoe bend to Beason’s Crossing Park stopping along the riverbanks and water’s edge to collect debris.
Team members removed tires, bottles, cans, cups, PVC pipes, and other debris from the waters. Fun and unusual items collected included an inflatable unicorn and plastic lawn chair. The group frequently devotes volunteer time to river and stream cleanups in Texas.
Keep Columbus Beautiful and the City of Columbus provided disposal support for all items collected. Marian Schonenberg of Keep Columbus Beautiful and Keep Texas Beautiful supplied the waterway cleanup campaign with trash bags and grabbers.
“A lot of the time, small litter becomes an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ matter and because the trash that collects along a river’s bank is often unseen, it accumulates with time,” said Tayvis Dunnahoe, co-lead of the GLC-TMN river cleanup project. “Our hope is that by actively working to pick up even a short run of a river puts it in people’s minds to handle their trash with a bit more care. Rivers are vital resources that we should all engage in protecting. Removing any amount of trash is a step in the right direction.”
“I always encourage people to pick up at least three pieces of trash every time they go out on the water or anywhere they see it,” adds project co-lead Chuck Babb. “Together, we are helping keep Texas beautiful, and as Willie Nelson reminded us in his 1989 campaign for our state, don’t mess with Texas!”
Jaci Elliott, Bill Fisher, Nancy and Tayvis Dunnahoe, and Chuck Babb clean up Colorado River during Keep Texas Beautiful “Don’t Mess with Texas” event. (Photos courtesy of Bill Fisher)
