All this week, we’re featuring Our Town Black River Falls. And, as you might have guessed, the Black River is an important part of the city.

That’s why one group is working to protect it.

"Friends of the Black River was formed in 2004,” said member, Sally Lister. "We're a real active group."

Members of the non-profit want people to appreciate this river – for what it is now and what it once was.

"In the older times, the logs came sailing down the river, said Basil Holder, who’s been part of the Friends of the Black River for years. “The logs cut upstream basically were used to build the city of Saint Louis. Now it's basically for recreation and right here above the dam we get hydro power for our city."

Sally says she also hopes more people will get out and enjoy what they call “the Black”.

"We are encouraging a lot of use of the river, canoeing, kayaking,” she said.

Lister says the Friends of the Black River also work to keep the water beautiful and clean. She says sustainability is a big part of what the members do.

"We do a lot of clean-ups,” Sally said. “We do two clean-ups every year. We do a river clean-up and then we do an Earth Day clean-up which is land surrounding the river."

Watching over the river – preserving it for generations to come.

."Everything about this river is important,” Basil said. “It's life. It's not a part of life, it is life for an awful amount of people."

The Black River flows through a number of counties in western Wisconsin – from Medford all the way to the Mississippi River near La Crosse.

Right now, the Friends of the Black River group has about 150 members.

To learn more about how you can get involved, visit this site.