Lee Creek at the Cedar Flats camping area, a frequent site for illegal dumping.

Photo courtesy Robyn Reed, Washington Co. Environmental Affairs

Volunteers are needed for the fifth annual Lee Creek Cleanup is set for Saturday, Sept. 8 at Devil’s Den State Park.

The creek, which winds through the park and into the Ozark National Forest, provides an unspoiled scenic delight for hikers, horseback riders, ATV riders, and expert paddlers. Its clear, teal waters make a narrow channel through the valley exposing steep banks lined with witch hazel, sycamores, boulder garden rapids, and flowing waterfalls.

Event poster

Courtesy

“Not only does this event do a great service for the communities that rely on Lee Creek as a source of drinking water, but it also does a great service for those who enjoy swimming, fishing, paddling and hiking on, around, or in the creek,” said John Pennington, Washington County extension agent for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

Pennington said volunteers have removed more than 10 tons of trash and junk from the waterway in the past five years.

“Lee Creek is a beautiful and powerful reminder of our connection to all of the Natural State’s waterways,” said Rebekah Spurlock Penny, an interpreter at Devil’s Den State Park. “It takes thousands of gallons of water from our backyards into the Arkansas River after each rain and eventually to the Gulf of Mexico every day when we are not in drought.”

Registration for participants begins at 9 a.m. at the Devil’s Den day-use horse parking area on Highway 220 and at Natural Dam in Crawford County. Volunteers will receive gloves and trash bags as well as a free lunch and a chance to win prizes.