The Truckee River Watershed Council will hold its 14th Truckee River Day on Sunday, Oct. 18. Truckee River Day has truly become a Community event and has expanded to cover the entire watershed.

For those of us who live here, the Truckee River has a place in all of our hearts. Whether we appreciate the river as a quiet place to meditate, ride a bike, take a hike or run, explore its waters on a raft, or fish, the Truckee River is the focal point in our community. Without it, Truckee would just not be Truckee.


One day a year the community comes together and spends a day working on various projects that will help the Truckee River Watershed and our beloved river. Truckee River Day relies on its volunteers to help with the various projects that will help the Truckee River Watershed.

The projects this year include a Perrazo Meadows Restoration project, which involves seeding, mulching and planting willows, the Truckee River Corridor restoration work downstream of Floriston (Shuttle bus from Granite Flat is provided) and the Glenshire Boardwalk project encompassing building a boardwalk to prevent meadow damage.

Other projects include the Little Truckee River Road Eradication — which involves removing an erosive route below Stampede Reservoir — the Glenshire Trail Re-route involving re-routing an existing trail and re-vegetating the existing trail, and the Tahoe Donner Erosion Control project that will help prevent erosion near trails.

Volunteers can opt to work a half- or full-day project. You can pick a specific project or be assigned one. Working on these projects is a great way to help out your community. Many families make this an annual event.

At the end of the day, there will be a celebration where all volunteers can get together at the Granite Flat Campground off Highway 89. There will be food and drinks, booths and fun activities. There will also be a fish release at 3 p.m. Children should bring a clean bucket if they want to help release trout into the river.

You must pre-register for this event by Oct. 9. You may register online by going to www.truckeeriverday.org or by calling (530) 550-8760.

— Bruce Ajari is a Truckee resident and regular fishing columnist for the Sierra Sun and other area newspapers.