Clean River Alliance’s mission is to remove trash from the Russian River watershed and to educate citizens about the problem of trash in our waters by creating more public clean-up events. CRA was founded in 2014 by Sonoma County resident Chris Brokate. After seeing the devastating effects of trash coming down the Russian River after heavy rains and entering the ocean, he began getting together with a small, intrepid group of volunteers to do cleanups. With the help of a couple of friends and with fiscal sponsorship through Russian Riverkeeper, a chapter of the national Waterkeeper Alliance, Chris Brokate started Clean River Alliance. From this original group, known as the Garbage Patch Kids, CRA now organizes public cleanups throughout the Russian River watershed from Hopland in Mendocino County to the mouth of the river at Jenner-by-the-Sea, on numerous Sonoma County beaches and on tributary creeks throughout the Santa Rosa plain.
Since 2015, the volunteers of Clean River Alliance have helped remove over 300,000 pounds of trash from the Russian River Watershed. In 2016, they started partnering with local houseless folks through the Vets Connect program in Guerneville and of that total amount, these homeless volunteers have collected over 80,000 lbs. In the year 2017, CRA organized over 200 cleanup events, involving over 1000 volunteers, removing over 170,000 lbs. of trash from our creeks, River, and ocean beaches. CRA has expanded its scope to include disaster response work (flood and fire), Caltrans Adopt-a-Highway programs, and homeless outreach to mitigate the effects of unsanctioned camping along the river and creeks. CRA has been recognized by Sonoma County and State agencies for its dedication and commitment to protecting the environment.
Clean River Alliance has made a huge difference in the environment of the Russian River. Together with their partner groups: Russian Riverkeeper, Russian River Wild Steelhead Society, Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods, Sonoma Coast Chapter of Surfrider Foundation, B-RAD Foundation, the City of Santa Rosa Creek Stewardship Program and others, CRA will continue to improve our rivers, waterways and the ocean so that its plants and animals can flourish and so that everyone who comes to the Russian River watershed can enjoy its natural beauty.
