Congratulations and thank you, Community Pride Highway Cleanup team leaders and volunteers! The major roadways in the valley – including stretches along I-70 and highways 6, 24 and parts of 131 – received a thorough cleaning on May 3, and we have 700+ hard-working volunteers to thank for it.
This was the 25th Annual Community Pride Highway Cleanup, with support by Vail Resorts EpicPromise, and it’s a foundational and much-loved community event coordinated annually by Eagle River Coalition. I joined the organization in November as the executive director, and I’m proud to be part of a group with a longstanding history of protecting our local watersheds and with such deep roots in the community.
The day’s incredible weather could have lured volunteers to go outside and play in the sun, but instead, you chose to get involved in a community event and pick up trash. Not only does this event result in beautified roadways and a more pleasant experience for residents and visitors, it also drastically reduces the amount of trash that enters riparian areas and other sensitive ecosystems and waterways in this headwaters watershed.
The event, which removed roughly 14 tons of trash this year, including multiple oversized items, would not be possible without sponsors. Thank you to Vail Resorts EpicPromise, and thank you for support from Eagle River Water & Sanitation District, Upper Eagle Regional Water Authority, the Town of Vail, Eagle County, as well as from local business sponsors. We are so grateful for the 60+ volunteer teams that mobilized 700+ community members who care deeply for our ecosystems and landscapes. Additionally, a huge thank you to the in-kind support of Colorado Department of Transportation, Vail Honeywagon, Mountain Recovery and law enforcement.
We hope to see you throughout the summer season at other volunteer projects, like a Restore the Gore Riparian Planting on May 22 and, later this fall, at the annual Eagle River Cleanup on September 6. If you are a volunteer, please stay tuned for updates about volunteer recognition this summer. Thank you so much!
Vicki Flynn
Executive Director | Eagle River Coalition | 970-827-5406
