Volunteers with a load of junk including a drowned Harley come ashore near Massengill Bridge during the 2013 Big Clinch River Cleanup, organized by the Clinch River Chapter of Trout Unlimited. Image by Frances Hamilton Oates.

NORRIS, TN — The second annual Big Clinch River Cleanup starts at 8 a.m. on Saturday, July 12, with a breakfast and briefing for all registered volunteers at the Museum of Appalachia, 2819 Andersonville Highway, Norris. The cleanup will wrap up about 2 p.m.

Everyone who enjoys the river, from anglers to kayakers to wildlife watchers, is invited to help remove litter from the Clinch and its banks. The community wide cleanup is an expansion of annual pickups run for many years by members of the Clinch River Chapter, Trout Unlimited. Last year, 78 volunteers and 15 boats marshaled by the chapter were deployed to gather tires and trash from the river.

This year, the first 100 volunteers to register will qualify for the free full breakfast -- to sign up, please visit http://crctu.org and click on Big Cleanup Registration. For more information, contact Buzz Buffington at buzz.buffington@gmail.com or (865) 463-7167, or Jim Ferguson at jimferguson41@gmail.com or (865) 494-8081. The event will be held rain or shine (in case of severe weather, the breakfast will be held but volunteers will stay on shore).

Clinch River Chapter TU works to preserve and protect the Clinch River tailwater and its watershed through conservation projects and through education of children and adults in aquatic natural resources. Meetings are held the second Thursday of the month in the parish hall at St. Francis Episcopal Church, Norris, except when outdoor activities are scheduled.