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High temps don’t stop the clean up

By Daniel Olson 4 min read

NEW ULM -- In blazing heat, Raising Awareness on Wildlife and Rivers (RAWR) educated on local wildlife and cleaned up the Cottonwood River over two events Saturday.

RAWR's first event of the day was at the farmer's market downtown on German Street from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Their booth was set up to educate the public on amphibians and reptiles. Exhibits and info sheets displayed several turtle shells and described the animals local to this area. RAWR founder Lori Wengert said their exhibit on turtles had vital information for people to keep in mind while on the road.

"Most of them are snapping turtles, a couple other different turtles," she said. "Our main thing is teaching people when [the turtles are] on the road, that means they’re going to lay their babies. People think they’re doing good by taking them down to the river or wherever. But the turtles are actually headed to their birthplace to lay their eggs. You don’t want to take them from where they’re going but help them across in the same direction."

The stand gave the kids the opportunity to make their own turtles by wrapping different colors of yarn around a series of Popsicle sticks. Frog coloring pages were also available for kids to get even more creative.

Wengert said they usually show bison exhibits when they come to the farmer's market, but this year was their first time bringing reptiles and amphibians. Attendee Paul Wyczawski found the change to be a positive for the community.

"I think it’s an outstanding educational opportunity for some of the younger kids as well as adults to come over and check out some of the exhibits," he said. "They got a really great turtle and frogs exhibit here as well as a couple of activities for the kids to get involved in. Seeing the kids get to interact with the RAWR exhibits is probably the most fun thing we did today."

Second was their river walk, which started at 1 p.m. on the banks of the Cottonwood River through Flandrau Park. This is the thirteenth year RAWR has held the walk, and Wengert has seen a positive impact made throughout the years.

"There's a lot less litter [from when we started]," she said. "We seem to be making a difference."

Wengert said the Cottonwood River tends to dry and shrink at a very fast pace, leaving large banks to walk along. This provides several hazards and dangers, both to people and the local wildlife.

"As the river goes down in August, the freshwater mussels get trapped in the puddles and then they dry up and die or raccoons eat them," Wengert said. "We take them out into the deeper water because most of them are endangered or threatened. We’re saving lives as we’re having fun. There’s so much glass because it used to be the glass dump spot way back when. Schell's dumped all their glass in the river and it moves downstream. We pick up as much as we can every time but I want to make sure nobody steps on it. And there’s always the danger of fish hooks."

The group had around 15 members exploring the dry banks and the river with water shoes. A major find was a baby softshell turtle. Wengert said softshell turtles are rare to find, especially baby ones. Mussels, bison bones, and a small frog were other exciting finds.

Devontae Simon Sr. and Magaly Ramirez brought their kids to explore and pitch in. It was the first time they had worked on clean-up efforts before. Simon Sr. said it was a pretty good time. Their kids Devontae Simon Jr., Deasia Simon, and Jakahi Simon each found their own source of enjoyment from the experience.

"The [bison] bones," Devontae Simon Jr. said.

"Finding shells and rocks," Deasia Simon said.

"Turtles," Jakahi Simon said.

For more information, go to the RAWR Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/783934616344092

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