WASHINGTON - March 3 - American Rivers, the nation's leading river conservation organization, today announced the kickoff of its 2009 National River Cleanup season. Since 1992, hundreds of thousands of volunteers across the country have participated to clean up thousands of tons of trash on America's rivers and streams. 

Last year American Rivers sponsored the most successful National River Cleanup yet with more than 300,000 volunteers removing more than 2,400 tons of trash from our rivers.  This year, through a revamped web site, new sponsorships and increased local outreach, American Rivers plans to make the 2009 National River Cleanups the most successful to date. 

Volunteers can find their closest river cleanup, information on how to organize a new river cleanup and frequently asked questions and answers at www.AmericanRivers.org/Cleanup.  

 "People of all ages can volunteer for a cleanup for an hour or a day to help clean the river they live on or care about," said Rebecca Wodder, president of American Rivers. "At a time when more and more Americans are looking for opportunities to volunteer and serve their communities, this is a great way to make an impact," continued Wodder.

With corporate partners like Tom's of Maine, Boulder Canyon Natural Foods, Subaru and Green Mountain Coffee, even more people across the country are aware of this great opportunity to make a difference for their local rivers.