With significant help from Alan Rollo and a group of eager students, the Council embarked on another great river cleanup project.  Alan Rollo, coordinator for the Sun River Watershed, facilitated the cleanup and restoration of a section of the Missouri River just upstream from Great Falls.  Alan, who has coordinated the removal of more than 400 car bodies from the Sun River, got involved with the project after being contacted by concerned landowners.  The work was paid for by those landowners and the Missouri River CD Council.  After Alan and his crew removed 23,000 pounds of material, including 20 car bodies and two truck-loads of trash, a team of 7th graders from the Holy Spirit Catholic School in Great Falls installed erosion control matting and planted willow sprigs at the site. 
   The 7th graders are lead by teacher Eric Vincent and call themselves the “River Runners”.  They adopted this riparian area as part of their project entry for the “Lexus Eco-Challenge” competition.  What’s more, they’ve written to 431 schools throughout the state , asking other kids and teachers to designate “Riparian Repair Teams” and make a difference on the rivers, streams, and wetlands in their backyards.  So far, teams from Livingston, Lewistown, and Belt have risen to the challenge and signed up to complete work in their own watersheds. 
   To find out more about the Lexus Eco Challenge, visit www.scholastic.com/lexus/
To sign up your “Riparian Repair Team”, contact Eric Vincent at the Holy Spirit School at (406)761-5775.