500 Pounds Removed
- Volunteers in The Dalles, Oregon, removed roughly 500 pounds of trash from the Riverfront Trail during an Earth Day cleanup. - The key specific: it was the third annual cleanup run by the Columbia Gorge Conservation Group. - Organizers called the haul a measurable community win that improves trail conditions for runners, walkers, and local wildlife. (columbiacommunityconnection.com)
About 500 pounds of trash came off The Dalles Riverfront Trail on April 22 after volunteers spent Earth Day cleaning the Columbia River path. (columbiacommunityconnection.com) Columbia Community Connection reported that 10 volunteers joined the cleanup from 9 a.m. to noon despite wet weather. The group worked the stretch between the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center and The Dalles Marina. (columbiacommunityconnection.com) The event was the third annual Riverfront Trail cleanup organized by the Columbia Gorge Conservation Group. Public event listings showed the April 22, 2026 cleanup starting at 9 a.m. at Klindt Cove in The Dalles. (columbiacommunityconnection.com) (gorgecurrent.com) The haul was far larger than the previous year’s total. The conservation group’s mission page said volunteers removed 60 pounds during the second annual cleanup on April 22, 2025. (columbiagorgeconservation.com) The Riverfront Trail is one of The Dalles’ main public recreation corridors. The U.S. Forest Service says the paved, accessible trail runs about 10 miles along the south bank of the Columbia River, from the Discovery Center to the The Dalles Dam Visitor Center. (fs.usda.gov) That makes litter removal more than a one-day volunteer project. A cleanup on a trail used by walkers, runners, and families changes conditions along a route that connects parks, shoreline access points, and visitor destinations in Wasco County. (columbiacommunityconnection.com) (fs.usda.gov) The cleanup also fit into a wider April push across Oregon. SOLVE, the statewide nonprofit that runs Oregon Spring Cleanup, said Earth Month volunteer projects were scheduled throughout April 2026 and culminated in a special Earth Day event on April 22. (solve.org) Organizers framed the The Dalles result as a practical local gain: less debris on the trail and along the riverfront after one morning of work. For a three-hour cleanup with 10 volunteers, 500 pounds gave the group a concrete number to point to when the bags were hauled away. (columbiacommunityconnection.com)
