Cleaning up the Pearl
A group aiming to remove refuse and trash in and along the Pearl River in Mississippi and Louisiana is seeking volunteers and sponsors for its annual outing this fall.
For 10 years, Pearl Riverkeeper has sought to improve the ecological health of the river by removing refuse and debris, testing water quality and highlighting public recreation along the river and adjacent waterways and public lands.
Pearl River Clean Sweep 2026 will focus on 20 sites along almost 500 miles from the river’s headwaters at Nanih Waiyah to its mouth near Pearlington, Mississippi. Pearl Riverkeeper reports that previous cleanups tapped more than 5,000 volunteers to remove approximately 200,000 lbs. of trash and debris.
The organization also monitors water quality and surveys fish, wildlife and plant communities in and along the river.
The river, originally named for the pearls produced by mussels in its freshwater shoals, is in many ways more stable than typically degraded waterways elsewhere in the state, yet has its problems, including indiscriminate dumping, littering, sediment runoff, bank erosion, pollutants and sewage discharges.
Other threats include a proposed plan to build a second impoundment in Jackson and the diversion of flows into Louisiana’s West Pearl River that leave parts of the historic lower river dry during extended droughts.
Trash is among the more visible environmental threats. The annual cleanups both reduce the toll and give volunteers an opportunity to get out on the river and improve its health. Sponsors earn their own environmental cred.
According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Debris Program, the Pearl is among the more biologically diverse river systems in the southeastern United States, supporting more than 140 fish species and 28 mussel species, making it a high priority for conservation.
Map of sites from a previous cleanup:
Images courtesy Pearl Riverkeeper