By Bess Warren
TAHLEQUAH — Hundreds gathered on the banks of the Illinois River Saturday to support efforts to keep the river and its tributaries clean and environmentally friendly.
The second annual Illinois River Fest was held at the War Eagle Resort and included more than 25 booths and vendors, which featured environmental issues, outdoor recreation and wildlife.
Scott Hood, Trout Unlimited Indian Nations chairman, demonstrated fly fishing to visitors and gave short lessons. Trout Unlimited is a national conservation organization, and Hood is also member of the Tulsa Fly Fishing Club and actively supports events that promote clean fresh water.
“We came down last year and decided we’d better come out this year,” Hood, 56, of Tulsa said. “We’re (Trout Unlimited) all about clean water. We don’t just drink it. For just the purposes of drinking, it’s important. For everything else, we’re not going to live on dirty water.”
Other demonstrations were given by Brian Wester, a volunteer with Blue Thumb, a water pollution education program of the Oklahoma Conservation Commission's Water Quality Division. He explained the importance of pollution control to Jeremy Jackson, 12, as he showed how pesticides and fertilizers can be washed off lawns and into natural water sources.
“Our main goal is to educate non-point pollution,” Wester, of Tulsa, said. “These are things that we do day in and day out that add to the pollution problem.”
Jackson listened intently to Wester and learned important information about how to contribute to keeping water safe.
“It’s not good to dump paint in your yard because it can affect our water,” Jackson said. “Dispose of the paint somewhere else and not in the back yard. It tastes nasty to drink paint in your water.”
Other booths included the Humane Society of Cherokee County where attendees had the chance to adopt one of 15 dogs brought to the event.
Rita Allen, volunteer coordinator for the Humane Society, hoped to find new owners/foster parents for the dogs and was excited about the opportunity to find the perfect ones.
“We love this event. These are the kinds of people we want to have our dogs — people that attend these types of event,” Allen said.
Don Alberty, member of the Tahlequah Rock and Mineral Society, also was giving out information during the all-day event. He explained the effects of water on area rocks and said he enjoys coming to these festivals.
“We here to make sure that everybody pays a little respect for nature,” Alberty, of Tahlequah said. “This is a great event, and you can’t beat the price either — free. You can see the crowd we get. We’re hoping this grows every year.”
