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Tuesday, November 16, 2010

WILSON ISLAND TO HOLD CLEANUP DAY NOV. 20

The Friends of Wilson Island will hold a cleanup day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., November 20.

Tasks to be undertaken include river dock cleanup, picnic table cleanup and sapling tree maintenance. Volunteers are asked to dress appropriately for the work and weather, and to wear work gloves. A lunch will be provided for those volunteering.

Wilson Island State Recreation Area will reopen at 8 a.m., November 22, following multiple floods of the Missouri River this summer and fall. The park will open to all normal uses except for camping.


“Additional work needs to be completed before the campground is available, which will open as progress is made. Realize that water did not recede from the park until the middle of September. This was the fifth time that Wilson Island was inundated since the middle of June,” said Chris Anunson, park ranger at Wilson Island.


“A great deal of work cannot be done until the water table drops from where it currently sits. The impacts of the flooding will still be felt well into next year,” Anunson said.


Along with the cleanup, steps are being taken to ease restoration efforts when the next flood occurs, including changes to grading in the camp areas and the installation of culverts.


“The flooding experienced this year was unprecedented in terms of the number of high water events and the time that water stayed in the park during each flood. It’s a benchmark that I don’t care to surpass,” said Anunson.

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