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Fishing for trash: Anglers clean up the Boise River

A local fishing guide gathered more than 40 volunteers to haul trash out of the Boise River, electric scooters to bedframes.

BOISE, Idaho — Instead of reeling in fish, a group of fly fishers and other volunteers are hauling out bags of trash from the Boise River.

Local outfitter and fishing guide Matthew Housel hosted his fourth annual Boise River cleanup event on Saturday near Ann Morrison Park.

Housel is the owner of Vice Outdoors, a guided fly-fishing company.

For the past three years of the Vice Outdoors Boise River Cleanup, Housel has funded the event and cleaning necessities alone.

This year, the event had help from its first sponsor, Anthony's Restaurants, which funded the cleaning supplies as well as raffle items to encourage more volunteers to show up.

The partnership between the Vice Outdoors Boise River Cleanup was initiated by Matthew Nobbs, chef at Anthony's Restaurants in Boise, who also has a passion for fishing and nature preservation.

"Though we're not harvesting any fish out of here, this is still the soul of what we believe in is, you know, sustainability and keeping our ecosystems clean," Nobbs told KTVB Saturday. "I thought it was a good fit, and it's something that I care about, and it's something that I know that the company cares about all the way up to the top."

The annual cleanup has grown since its initiation, starting with just 12 volunteers the first year, now having more than 40 on Saturday.

For several hours, the volunteers cleaned the Boise River, along the bank and throughout the depths of the river, pulling out various trash items.

Saturday the group pulled items like clothes, bottles, furniture, electric scooters, bedframes, and more items alike.

"There's a car down in the middle of the river, and so it's just stuff like that that I've seen all sorts of crazy things," Nobbs said.

Housel said he has worked with Boise Parks and Recreation to be able to leave his group's recovered trash next to Boise Parks and Recreation trash cans that will be picked up by Boise Parks and Recreation employees.

"If we encounter any of the needles or drug needles and that sort of stuff, we don't pick it up," Housel said. "We mark the location and then notify them, and then they send them a team."

Housel started this initiative because of his deep appreciation for the Boise River.

"This river is the lifeblood that that runs through the city," Housel said. "Humans and animals are both attracted to this river. You've got otter and beaver and deer and osprey and eagles, bald eagles, ducks, geese, and all these wild animals."

Housel said he is disappointed with the amount of trash that lives in the Boise River.

"It's embarrassing to me what we've seen happen," said Housel. "It's disturbing to see the amount of trash. And I know that these animals don't like it, the humans, who do it, don't like it."

Some of the volunteers in the cleanup expedition have returned to participate for several years.

Women Fly Fishers of Idaho is another fishing group dedicated to keeping the river clean and helps routinely bring in more volunteers as they grow their own organization.

"We try to encourage our ladies to help everybody on these river cleanups, because we benefit, everyone benefits from our rivers being pristine," Lisa Szentes, President of the Women Fly Fishers of Idaho, told KTVB Saturday.

The cleanup is expected to continue annually in the fall season, after Boise River floating comes to an end.

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