We have been hosting “Rafting for Refuse”, our annual river clean up, since 1997. Every June we gather volunteers to help us clean the public river access points and along the Middle Fork of the Flathead river corridor.
All our guests meet at our office and get their river assignments. They gear up in wetsuits, booties and life-jackets.
 Ross getting boats together. |
 Jen helping with lifejackets. She’s awesome. |
 Wetsuits are not the easiest thing to get on. Sometimes you need a little help from friends. |
 There are lots of logistics. Denny and Ben working their magic. |
This year we thought we would help promote the national Leave No Trace Program by teaching a short class on the LNT principles.
This is a great non profit organization that aims to educate people about recreating responsibly (aka. treading lightly on the land).
 Tyler and Noah teaching the 7 Principles of Leave No Trace Outdoor Ethics. 1. Plan ahead and prepare. 2. Travel and camp on durable surfaces. 3. Dispose of waste properly. 4. Leave what you find. 5. Minimize campfire impacts. 6. Respect wildlife. 7. Be considerate of other visitors. |
 The volunteers for the upper section. |
 Teal and Amy, guides for the whitewater section. |
 Montana Academy has been sending kids to volunteer for 9 years. |
Once everyone is ready to go, we get on the buses and travel to the river access points to pick up trash and then raft the river.
 Trusty Baby Blue has been here almost as long as we have. |
A great morning on the river is followed by a hearty BBQ and some volleyball.
 Free BBQ is another reason to volunteer, besides the free rafting. |
 Ben and Jake our grill masters. |
And the winner of our “best piece of trash” award? Adam from Montana Academy won for his miniature pink rake.
 Montana Raft’s 2012 Rafting for Refuse crew. |
It was another great year of picking up trash. We sincerely thank everyone involved.