Many of you may remember that back in the late ’60s and ’70s many of our major rivers were nothing more than polluted cesspools. The Potomac River, which runs through our nation’s capital, was a major example of this neglect.

Then citizens became alarmed, and, spurred on in part by an iconic television commercial that featured a teary-eyed American Indian paddling down a litter-strewn river, a cleanup campaign began. Today, rivers such as the Potomac have been made whole and are used for recreation and even drinking water.

That’s why we are glad to see the nonprofit Yellow River Water Trail group taking action to clean up the Yellow River. The group is working to create a 47.5-mile designated water trail from Gwinnett County to Jackson Lake. Through its efforts, much trash has been removed over the past few months from and around the river.

In 2011, tourists spent $2 billion on water activities in Georgia.

We support the efforts of the Yellow River Water Trail organization. We hope that every community the Yellow River traverses on its journey will also support this effort.