April 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 34

YAMAHA RIGHTWATERS
Yamaha has a long history of
natural
resource
conservation.
During the past decade alone, Yamaha
has given support to a host
of organizations, agencies and institutions,
including Keep the Tennessee
River Beautiful (KTNRB),
the Georgia Department of Natural
Resources and Florida State
University, to name a few. Beyond
support of nonprofits and research
institutions, Yamaha Rightwaters
conducts key work in supporting
legislation aligned with the four
pillars, including the Save Our Seas
Act, S. 3508 on Capitol Hill. The
act was signed into law on October
11, 2018.
Yamaha Rightwaters officially
launched on World Oceans Day
2019 with support for the Coastal
Georgia Clean Up campaign to prevent
plastic and other debris from
entering the ocean. Now entering
its fifth year, Yamaha Rightwaters
will announce several new collaborations
in 2024 and continue to
work closely with its
long-term
A cleanup with Yamaha and its pro anglers
took place on March 21, 2023, just before the
Bassmaster Classic on the Tennessee River in
Knoxville, Tennessee.
conservation partners. As Yamaha
Rightwaters looks forward into the
year to come, it's important to reflect
on the foundational successes
of Yamaha Rightwaters and how
those activities carry the initiative
into the future.
Working to Clean Marine
Environments
Marine debris can come in many
forms, but one of the most prevalent
in the marine environment
is post-consumer waste. Yamaha
Rightwaters partners with numerous
organizations to clean waterways
and at-risk areas across the
country. One of Yamaha Rightwaters'
oldest and most active partners
is KTNRB, a nonprofit with
a mission to educate and inspire
people to take action to create a
clean, healthy, beautiful Tennessee
River for generations to come.
" The Tennessee River touches four
states: Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi
and Kentucky. Its tributary
rivers flow through North Carolina,
Virginia and Georgia. According
to a study conducted by the University
of Tennessee Haslam College
of Business, the recreation industry
on the lakes of the Tennessee
River watershed alone generates
$12 billion a year, so it behooves
us to take care of the very delicate
ecosystem that makes these lakes
so desirable to visit, and therefore,
drives our local economies, " says
Kathleen Gibi, executive director
of KTNRB. " With the support of
Yamaha Rightwaters, we have the
ability to take our efforts to the
next level. In fact, their generous
donation of two of their
nicest
outboard motors have powered our
boats to take over 4,000 volunteers
to remove over 600,000 pounds of
trash from the Tennessee River watershed.
We as a nonprofit and as
a river community would be in a
very different place if it wasn't for
Yamaha Rightwaters understanding
the importance of protecting
our waterways and stepping up to
make a difference. "
Working together since 2019,
Yamaha Rightwaters and KTNRB
engage the communities along the
Tennessee River in cleanups. These
cleanups take many forms and involve
people from each generation.
In 2023, KTNRB broke several
records for their organization, including
most trash removed in one
year at 218,719 pounds and most
trash removed in three hours at
31,115 pounds.
Last year also drew the largest
turnout of volunteers in a single
calendar year at 994 individuals.
KTNRB's stellar 2023 included a
cleanup with Yamaha pro anglers
Ish Monroe, Bobby Lane and Bill
Lowen, who worked with 30 volunteers
to remove 6,742 pounds of
trash in just two-and-a-half hours.
The cleanup was held on Fort
34 Parks & Recreation | APRIL 2 0 2 4 | PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
PHOTO COURTESY OF KEEP THE TENNESSEE RIVER BEAUTIFUL
April 2024 – Parks & Recreation

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