It is almost time for the annual canoe ride down the Boone River while enjoying sand, muck, sweat, flies and fun.

On Saturday, July 8, volunteers are welcomed and encouraged to join the Boone River Cleanup Crew to pick up tires, trash and plastic from and along the Boone River from Riverside Park in Webster City to Briggs Woods Park.

Check-in is at 7:30 a.m. at Shelter #1 within Briggs Woods Park (2490 Briggs Woods Trail, off of Highway 17, south of Webster City).

Volunteers are encouraged to bring work gloves, garden trowel or small shovel sunscreen, snacks, water to drink, insect repellant and a head covering, as well as wearing old clothes and shoes.

Bring your own canoe. The Iowa State University Extension and Outreach office of Hamilton County will have some canoes available on a first come, first serve basis. Volunteers will be transferred to Riverside Park in Webster City by bus.

A representative will provide a water safety briefing before setting off into the river.

Plan to spend up to five hours on the river. The flotilla will follow a representative from the city and will be followed (and encouraged to keep moving) by a representative from county conservation.

Since 2007, volunteers have recovered 816 tires, more than seven tons of scrap metal and three and a half tons of trash. Removing tires, metal and trash from the river will dramatically improve water quality.

It also improves safe boating.

All volunteers must abide by Iowa Boating Laws set forth by the Department of Natural Resources. Alcohol consumption while participating in this event is not allowed.

Parents must sign waivers and provide medical information for youth under 18 years of age. Children 14 to 15 years of age must be accompanied by an adult. This activity is not recommended for children under age 14.

Want to help, but not excited about getting your feet wet? Volunteers can pick up trash within Briggs Woods Park and bring it to Shelter #1.

Trash picked up on the river will be dropped off at two sites — at the boat access near the artesian well and at the Briggs Woods boat ramp. A free lunch and a Boone River Cleanup Crew T-shirt will be provided to the first 50 volunteers off the river.

The Boone River is one of best paddling rivers in Iowa and weaves through several miles of picturesque Hamilton County.

It is 98 miles in length rising out of Hancock County and flowing southeasterly.

Native Americans had fish traps in the river and Fish Trap Ford was a good place to cross. The fish traps channeled the fish into hickory bark traps that allowed smaller fish to escape.

In the winter, fish could be speared for food through openings in the ice. The Boone River supports smallmouth bass, channel catfish and walleye.

Iowa caught fish are safe to eat in almost all cases (according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources) and cleaning up the river supports better fish habitat. In the early 20th Century, clams in the Boone River were a source of valuable pearls.

Early European settlers to the Webster City area used the river to access and lay claim to the land for settling. Reaching the area was difficult over land due to numerous bogs, swamps and mud bottomed lakes.

Settlers needed to scout out the land before bringing families north via ox-drawn wagons. The river was economically important for travel and for providing power to grist (corn, wheat) and sawmills that came to line its banks including the well-known Bone’s Mill, Tunnel Mill, and Man-Bell’s Mill.

Not every river is as well-structured to support mills as the Boone River was.

Some early Iowans traveled a fair distance to the Boone River to have their grain milled for use and sale.

If you are from around the area you might have heard tales of a river pirate that buried treasure in a cave along the Boone. The pirate preyed on settlers along the Des Moines River and used the Boone to escape and hide until he could sell or trade the stolen goods. Some of that treasure may still be there.

Mineral springs flow into the Boone River. Webster City citizens had expectations in the late 1800s that a great health resort could be developed.

As early as 1885, Selam Rosenkrans built a park that featured water fountains, flowers, paths to walk on and shady nooks along the east side of the Boone River (south of Bank Street) and where people could relax and drink water from the flowing wells.

At Chase Mill, a dam was built on the river that backed water up into a pool that was used for recreational canoeing and row-boating.

The Boone River has fostered economic development and quality of life in the past for Hamilton County residents, and is now a great source for recreation fishing, tubing and kayaking.

Removing debris will help keep it this way.