By the end of Saturday's third annual Platte River Revival, more than one million pounds of trash had been removed from the North Platte River.

At the end of last year's event, city officials estimated the two-year running total at about 950,000 pounds.

There was no celebration, though.

Jolene Martinez, the event's organizer, said in the weeks leading up to the event, she wasn't sure whether the milestone was something to be commemorated.

One one hand, she explained, it's an amazing feat to pull that much stuff out of the river. On the other, the fact that there were a million pounds of trash in the river is nothing to glorify.

Volunteers passed the milestone with no pomp and circumstance, instead donning gloves, red t-shirts and boots alongside city employees and Rotary Club volunteers who staffed the event.

The event brought together hundreds of individuals, church groups, government agencies and local businesses for two hours of intense cleaning, both in and along the North Platte River, from Bryan Stock Trail on the east side to Morad Park near the intersection of CY Avenue and Wyoming Boulevard on the west side.

Justin Smith, spokesman for the Casper Fire Department, said more than 450 people preregistered for the event, and organizers expected up to 600 people total.

Ralph Stanley, along with his 12-year-old son Gabriel, 10-year-old son Mike, and about two dozen others from his church group, came out to help pick up trash and haul dead branches from the river's edge.

Gabriel needs twenty hours of community service to be confirmed in the Our Saviors Lutheran Church, Ralph explained, and the time on the river will go toward that. His younger son just wanted to tag along.

"It's a good thing to do, it's a good community service," Ralph said.

Richard Hallingstad, who said he uses the pathway regularly, said he volunteered because he wanted to maintain the community resources he uses on a regular basis.

"I walk it every day, I might as well participate in keeping it clean," he said. "I know they cut down quite a few of the Russian olive trees and I know that's going to be a big deal out here."

The Russian olive tree has been a sore spot for river enthusiasts over the past few years, and companies have volunteered their time and equipment to help get them removed. Ward 2 Councilwoman Kate Sarosy and Ward 3 Councilman Paul Bertoglio were both detailed to brush-hauling duty.

"Everybody's starting to catch the spirit of the river," Bertoglio said. "It's just spectacular what the river looks like when the Russian olives are gone."

Aside from obvious improvements in the aesthetics of the river, there's a public safety component to the cleanup.

"One interesting thing is the crime prevention aspect of this," Smith said as nearly two dozen volunteers cut brush and branches from an area between the pathway and the river. "It opens this all up, it reduces the attractive nuisance part of this."

Smith said campfires started by vagrants can spread, and removing the dead wood reduces the risk of fire and opens up the area, making it more difficult to hide.

Right now there are no plans to continue the annual event beyond 2011.

"Clearly, there's a desire to do this sort of thing every year, but at some point it may not have to be such an intense effort," Sarosy said. "The city needs to take the lead, which they've done."

Earlier this year, the city council accepted a $70,000 grant to be used for a study of the river's water flow, at the same time committing to a comprehensive master plan that will identify key projects in the river's future. It's a long-term approach city officials are taking with the river, which many have described as a "jewel" and "asset" to the Casper community.

"We're trying to embrace the fact that one of our treasures we've forgotten is the river. Most communities that have a river run through it embrace it, make it a center piece. We forgot that," Bertoglio said. "And since we've started this revival it's started to bring the community together in a project we can really be proud of."

You can reach city reporter Pete Nickeas at (307) 266-0639. You can read more about Casper politics and government at http://tribtown.trib.com/redtape.

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• 2009 Platte River Revival