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Local fisherman creates nonprofit that rewards people who pick up trash along rivers Reporter Kaitlyn Bolduc Posted Feb 23, 2017 A local fisherman is on a mission to rid our region's rivers of all trash. He's founded a nonprofit called Riverjunky that hands out prizes to people who pick up trash when they see it near the water. Jarrod Kirkley is a lifelong fisherman. "We're all conservationists. I've been fishing my whole life and every time you go fishing, you know, we take out more than we brought in," said Kirkley. He's always cared about preserving that way of life,...

SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. – Just about everywhere you look in Western Washington you can’t help but notice a growing homeless problem.  It’s happening in downtown Seattle, in the suburbs, even camping along our waterways.  One local non-profit aims to clean-up the mess left behind.  River Junky Conservation started with one fed-up fisherman. Dozens of volunteers dig deep into dumps of trash left over by fishermen, campers, and homeless people. “We’ve seen the need to hold a lot of events and get a lot of raw manpower out here to move a lot of trash at once,” said River Junky Conservation...

Sept 1, 2019   Skykomish River Clean-Up:   92 People 2 Hours 26,764.23 Pounds of Garbage Removed.

    River Junky Wins Volunteer of the Year Award From State River Cleanup: Social Media Brings Network of Stewards Together to Clean Waterways, Including the Cowlitz River When Jarrod Kirkley landed a steelhead with a hypodermic needle sticking out of its side on the Kalama River last year, he decided it was time to do his part to clean up local waterways. A year later, his effort, known as River Junky, has gained a network of stewards that span the country as well as Australia, Japan and Canada. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife recently recognized the group...

RiverJunky answers the call to clean up sites along Skykomish MONROE — Nearly 100 volunteers gathered on the banks of the Skykomish River on Saturday to pick up garbage. This wasn’t a typical trash cleanup. The site, just south of the Lewis Street Bridge near Monroe, was a former homeless encampment. The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office had gone in Dec. 17 and removed about a dozen people camping there. Deputies had visited the site several times in the fall to try to get some of the people into detox or other treatment services. None of them accepted the offer, said...