This guest blog was written by Tipton Power, a member of the Nooksack Wild & Scenic campaign steering committee and is actively engaged in the Bellingham paddling community.

Nothing defines the arrival of prime paddling season more than the subtle roar of rapids and splashes of cold water, fresh from the deep winter snowpack, which wake up the senses and help you appreciate nature’s cycles and seasons in another way.   

Late spring is in full effect here in the North Cascades and as the temperatures warm up in the higher elevations, the North Fork Nooksack River rises to prime levels for paddling and rafting. It’s time to just get back in a boat any day of the week and let the current whisk you away down the river. 

Whitewater Paradise

From its origins on the slopes of the glacier-dotted Mt. Shuksan, the North Fork Nooksack tumbles down steep boulder gardens and cuts narrow canyons through lush inland rainforests, picking up flows from major tributaries like Glacier, Canyon, and Wells Creeks. Along the banks, everything seems covered in a thick mat of moss and ferns appear to grow from everywhere you look. 

The upper reaches of the North Fork offer expert paddlers tight gorges with class IV and V white water separated by a couple of waterfall portages. Below that is a short but steep Class IV(+) section ending at the Horseshoe Bend campground. From the campground down to the town of Glacier, the river leaves the highway again and runs through a beautiful mini-gorge with lots of quality Class II and III water. It is a great day stretch for kayaks and rafts that instills a sense of remoteness and adventure close to home. 

Why Wild & Scenic?

Residents in the area are lucky to have such a gem of a river in their backyard. As well as having recreational and scenic values, the Nooksack River is also critical spawning habitat for salmon, steelhead, and trout, a source of clean water to the communities downriver, unique geological features (ever seen the Chuckanut sandstone formation?), and cultural values to the Coast Salish people. 

Over the past century, there have been more than 50 proposed hydropower projects within the Nooksack River basin and without Wild and Scenic protection, it leaves the river vulnerable to these ever-present threats. This alone is why I think it is time for us as a paddling community—a river community—to get behind the designation of the forks of the upper Nooksack River and nine key tributaries as a Wild and Scenic River and give this small slice of paradise in the North Cascades the protection it deserves. 

Sign the petition and learn more about the Nooksack River Wild & Scenic Campaign.

This guest blog was written by Katherine Carscallen and is a part of our blog series on America’s Most Endangered Rivers® – Rivers of Bristol Bay, Alaska.

As I type this blog, I can feel my fingers sting with layers of cuts and grime. Looking at my Band-Aid and grease saturated hands, I’m reminded that it was never my intention to be a mechanic. In no way do I mean to disparage mechanics, I’m often gratefully indebted to them. It’s just that I grew up on my parent’s commercial fishing boat.

I was always drawn to the bridge of the boat, watching the net go out, fish pile in, and my favorite part, picking each fish out of the net, one by one as they come aboard. Picking fish is a race against yourself, to get the salmon out as quickly as possible while taking care to remember that each one will end up on a person’s plate in the near future.

Fishing to me was always intense. Exciting. An adventure. And of course when we were lucky – lucrative.

It wasn’t long after college I knew I wanted fishing to be a permanent part of my life and I bought my boat. That was my first inadvertent step towards becoming a mechanic. I learned very quickly that in order to do the fun parts of fishing, you must first ensure your engines, hydraulics, steering, pumps, and every other detail of the boat is maintained to run without fail at a critical moment. Without all the equipment we depend on running well, I would never have the opportunity to put my net in front of the world’s largest runs of wild salmon year after year in Bristol Bay. So, this time of year, with an estimated 51 million salmon only a week or two away, I guess I am a mechanic, anxiously awaiting my chance to be a fisherman again.

When I decided to make fishing my career, I also never intended to become an environmental advocate.

By the same token however, the un-paralleled fishing here in Bristol Bay is only possible thanks to generations of people caring for the habitat that sustains our salmon. Centuries ago, healthy salmon runs were all over the West Coast, unobstructed by dams, sediment, roads and other inevitable side effects of industrialization.

Today, those runs are diminished, and Bristol Bay is now unique. It’s the last great wild sockeye run in the world, and the habitat that sustains our watershed has not been damaged by development. Keeping our fishery intact means advocating for the habitat that sustains it.

Ever since a Canadian company called Northern Dynasty proposed to build what would be one of the largest mines in North America just upstream from my home in the headwaters of our two most important salmon rivers, I’ve become an environmental advocate too.

Today, the Pebble Mine is closer to becoming a reality than ever before. Northern Dynasty has entered the federal permitting process. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is taking comments on the impacts the mine would have – this is the first phase in the permit application’s environmental review.

I’ve already submitted my comment, asking that the Army Corps consider the downstream impacts this mine would have. I asked them to consider the generational threat a toxic tailing dam would pose, the economic harm the existence of a mine would have on our fishing industry that is rooted in quality, sustainability and pristine wild salmon. I asked them to prioritize thousands of years of tradition and a way of life sustained by the people of this region, and to consider the permanent and irreversible harm this mine would bring to an otherwise unaltered watershed, as one mine after another was built on top of our salmon nursery.

This is our opportunity to take a different path than the places where salmon runs have already been decimated. We can still prioritize water, salmon, people and Bristol Bay’s world-class fishery.

So, while I anxiously await the coming salmon, I’m taking a break from my boat work to ask you to submit a comment as well. Please support the last great wild sockeye fishery, and the pristine habitat that sustains it.

Please join American Rivers in asking the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to defend indigenous peoples, commercial fishermen, wild salmon and clean water by rejecting Pebble’s mining permit application.

Sign-on by June 27^th to be included in our petition!

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Author:  Katherine Carscallen

Katherine Carscallen is a commercial fisher woman and lifelong resident of Bristol Bay.

This guest post by Dr. Jason Sellers is a part of our America’s Most Endangered Rivers® series spotlighting the Rappahannock River.

The Rappahannock River has long been a focal point for Virginia’s human communities, and its health remains vital for Virginians today. Although often confident in the resilience of their natural resources, including the Rappahannock, Virginians have historically taken steps to protect the river and the opportunities it provides. Concerted efforts since the 1960s have revitalized the river, its industries, and its people, even as new threats imperil the Rappahannock today.

For centuries, anadromous fish runs and fertile soils have attracted Native Americans to Virginia’s river valleys. Algonquian peoples, many of them associated with the Powhatan chiefdom, centered their territories on the major waterways on which they relied for food and travel. John Smith met a number of these groups as he explored the Chesapeake in 1608, including the Rappahannock tribe, whose name means, “the people who live where the water rises and falls,” and from whom the river takes its name. Smith also received reports of Manahoac settlements above the Rappahannock’s fall line.

English colonists found Virginia’s rivers attractive for similar reasons, dispersing across plantations on level, fertile land near the waterways that could carry their tobacco and wheat to market. As settlement expanded inland, the House of Burgesses ordered the construction of Fredericksburg in 1728, at the fall line of the Rappahannock. The town was to serve as a distribution center connecting backcountry settlers and the area’s emerging iron industry with Atlantic trade networks. Several years earlier, Governor Alexander Spotswood had established German iron workers on the Rapidan River, the Rappahannock’s largest tributary, and by 1720 Spotswood’s Tubal Furnace was operational, later providing iron for Fredericksburg’s gun manufactories during the American Revolution.

Although the new federal government declined to designate Fredericksburg as a port-of-entry, investors hoping to position the Rappahannock as a regional trade hub constructed an extensive canal system. When the system failed to turn a profit, the Fredericksburg Water Power Company transformed it in 1855, constructing a wooden crib dam to direct water into the canals for water power rather than transportation, and enlivening Fredericksburg’s thriving agricultural and industrial mills. The company modernized this operation in 1910, constructing Embrey Dam to channel water through turbines at its new power plant to provide electricity for the growing region’s industries. The plant ceased operations in the 1960s when power demands exceeded what local water power could supply, but the canal system continued to provide raw water for the city into the early 2000s.

By the turn of the 21st century, intensive agricultural and industrial development had been shaping the Rappahannock for three centuries, and a major dam had obstructed it for over 150 years. As early as 1759, upstream residents complained that mills obstructed fish runs, and the General Assembly ordered mill owners to build fishways through or around their dams — an early example of political action to protect valuable marine species. The watershed’s extensive timbering and mining had less obvious but equally damaging effects on the river’s health, the former removing ground cover and eroding the banks of the river and its tributaries, the latter leaving open slag piles to leach into streams. To protect and manage the valuable fisheries on the Rappahannock and throughout the commonwealth, the state tasked a series of agencies with regulating its finfish and shellfish industries beginning in the 1870s. Similar concerns about industrial pollution, as well as municipal wastewater discharge, led to one of the nation’s first water control laws in 1946 to protect municipal water sources.

Virginia thus had a long history of environmental protections by the time the General Assembly created the Virginia Outdoor Recreation Study Commission in 1964 amid a mounting environmental movement. Anticipating that the mix of counties, cities, and towns comprising Virginia’s metropolitan areas would complicate land-use planning, the Commission’s 1965 report called for regional planning and action when multiple localities shared a resource, identifying waterways and river basins as particular concerns. That report and the 1966 Virginia Outdoors Plan became the underpinning for subsequent legislation that created an open-space easement program designed to protect watersheds, scenic views, historic landscapes, and wildlife habitats by permanently removing land from development. Since 1988, more than forty organizations have secured over 500,000 total acres of perpetual easements in the state.

Such easements constitute one crucial tool for regional conservation efforts on the Rappahannock River. As part of a larger flood control and water supply project, the City of Fredericksburg purchased 4800 acres of forested riparian lands along 32 miles of the Rappahannock and Rapidan rivers in 1969, later converting more than 4000 acres into a conservation easement in 2006. Residents along the river have responded to environmental concerns as well, some formalizing their efforts by founding the Friends of the Rappahannock (FOR) in 1985. Besides securing its own property and establishing additional conservation easements, FOR has been instrumental in raising environmental awareness by combining a range of educational and restoration programs throughout the watershed with political advocacy on behalf of the river and its residents. As co-founder Bill Micks explained in 2017, “Almost everybody from top to bottom on this river now realizes the importance of a green 100-foot buffer or 200-foot buffer and how important that is for water quality. I think things have really taken a step in a good direction.”

Perhaps the most visible moment in the Rappahannock’s recovery came with the removal of Embrey Dam. Concerns about declining migratory fish stocks and the poor condition of the dam dovetailed with desires to restore the river and boost tourism, and local officials and conservationists cooperated to secure congressional support. A 1998 federal study determined that fish passage and the restoration of the Rappahannock was in the public interest, qualifying the dam removal project for federal funding. After removing 250,000 cubic yards of accumulated sediment, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers used explosives to breach the dam in 2004, removing the rest in 2005 to restore a free-flowing Rappahannock for the first time in 150 years.

The outcome of years of coordinated efforts between the state, the city of Fredericksburg, federal agencies, the military, and non-profit organizations, the removal of Embrey Dam is a reminder of both the challenges and possibilities inherent in protecting regional watersheds like the Rappahannock from new threats like fracking. Remembering events of the early 2000s, Chief Anne Richardson of the Rappahannock Indians recalls, “We had a tradition of pouring salt in the water to cleanse and so we went and poured salt in the water and prayed that the creator would come because he created this river, it belongs to him, not us. And so we asked for purification and healing and he did it.”

Through the efforts of the citizens and governments it serves, the Rappahannock today is the longest free-flowing river in Virginia. The last decade has seen migratory fish returning to the river’s upper reaches, oyster populations rebounding in the tidal estuary, the river’s banks revegetated, bald eagle nesting sites multiplying, residents and tourists boating and hiking, and a cleaner water supply for the region’s inhabitants. Centuries ago and today, from the mountains to the bay, a healthy Rappahannock remains a center of Virginia life.

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FOR THREE YEARS IN A ROW, the Virginia General Assembly has rejected industry attempts to roll back important fracking chemical disclosure rules that would apply to natural gas development in the Rappahannock River Basin. This idea, to keep chemical secrets from the public, continues to rear its ugly head. Despite defeating these bills in past Virginia General Assembly sessions, there is currently another legislative attempt to erode these protections sitting in a subcommittee of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Council and may end up in the Virginia General Assembly for a FOURTH YEAR IN A ROW. This is unacceptable.

Don’t let all of this effort to protect the Rappahannock River go to waste! If you live in Virginia, please sign this petition and join American Rivers and our partners in telling the FOIA Council, your state legislators, and Governor Northam to keep chemical disclosures in place!

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Author: Dr. Jason Sellers

Dr. Jason Sellers is a professor of history at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA. He is a cultural and environmental historian of 17th-and 18th-century North America interested in landscapes and bodies, and is currently working on a project that explores the interactions of Munsee Indians and European colonists in the 17th-century Hudson Valley.

This blog is a part of our series on America’s Most Endangered Rivers® – the Big Sunflower River in Mississippi.

The Big Sunflower River topped our annual list of America’s Most Endangered Rivers® this year. Have you been there? Have you paddled or fished in this special place? Tell us your story below!

In case you’ve never been there (sadly, I have not either), I wanted to share some beautiful images that capture many of the curious creatures that call this place home (and some whimsical commentary that you can take or leave). These images are all credited to Stephen Kirkpatrick.

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Check out the stack of alligators above! I suspect they must have been keeping warm by piling up (this image was taken in March). Or perhaps they are waiting in line for the all-you-can-eat buffet!

Did you know that armadillos can swim? I did not. Yet, here is this rolly polly stretching out and taking a dip in the river. It reminds me of a tiny amphibious tank.Whoooooo do we have here? A gorgeous Barred Owl. Did you know that supposedly Barred Owls have a call that sounds like, “Who cooks for you?” Listen here and then tell me below if you agree with the experts at The Cornell Lab of Ornithology (I’m not sure… it just sounds like a bunch of hooting to me… although I admit that I am not a bird expert AT ALL)!

Well, I’ll be dammed! While beavers drive some people crazy, they can actually be really helpful for the river environment in some places. If you want to learn more, check out this recent article!

The beautiful Belted Kingfisher. I love that blue-grey. Of course, I had to compare the soulful hoots of the Barred Owl to this Belted Kingfisher, and HONEY, this bird sounds like it is ordering me around! I don’t know what I am supposed to be doing, but I better get on top of it! (Does this remind you of anyone you know…?)

BARRED OWL:  Whoooo cooks for you?

BELTED KINGFISHER:  Goodness, you don’t even know. Nobody is cooking for me! Where are my helpers? Nowhere to be found. But you can bet when the food is ready, there they will be with their empty bellies waiting for some tasty fish. Did anybody help catch the fish? Nope. You just don’t even know…

These Black-bellied Whistling Ducks live in the trees and forage at night. Of course, I had to have a listen. Here you go! Definitely less quacky and more chirpy.

Don’t you just love the look of this Cattle Egret? It’s as if he just woke up and was like—what did I miss?? Listen to this Cattle Egret having a good laugh about something or other. Not surprisingly, these birds hang out with cows, eating bugs that get rustled up or even ticks on the cows themselves. Gotta love that symbiosis.

Lots of birds. Something else! Fox squirrel! This one is starring in the new movie: Mission Impawsible. Before it leaves for its mission, it needs to track down some nuts!

This is Mississippi. You know there are bugs in this Delta! This is a Hoverfly on a Chickasaw plum bloom. Don’t worry though. Hoverflies are harmless to most other animals.

Look at this momma wild hog with all her hoglets! I cannot imagine having that many babies at one time. Good luck, momma!

Bird break over. Y’all, I had to share this Indigo Bunting! Look at that stunning blue plumage. What a happy sounding bird!

Check out this goofy Wood Duck! I think he’s yelling—Stop! We didn’t wait 30 minutes to digest before going in the water! What do you think he is yelling?

Did you know that Red-bellied Woodpeckers have suuuuuper long tongues? Their tongue can stick out nearly two inches past the end of their beak, plus it’s all barby and sticky, to get tasty morsels out of deep crevices.

Lastly, we have fabulous Roseate Spoonbills and a cameo by Black-crowned Night Heron. There’s something wonderful about a bright pink bird with a big ole spoon beak that just makes me smile. Nature is a crazy place.

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Truly, these magnificent creatures are just a small snapshot of the amazing wildlife that would be impacted by the Yazoo Pumps project in the Big Sunflower watershed. Take action today to help us save this special place.

Please join us in telling Congress that a Clean Water Act veto is final and to dump Yazoo Pumps once and for all for the benefit of nature and people.

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If you loved these images as much as I do, go check out more of Stephen Kirkpatrick’s wildlife photography at: https://www.kirkpatrickwildlife.com/index.

The following guest blog from Brian Hanson is part of our America’s Most Endangered Rivers® series on the Middle Fork of the Vermilion River in Illinois.

I am writing in response to an article about the Middle Fork of the Vermilion River published in the Chicago Tribune on April 10, 2018. The river has been selected as one of America’s Most Endangered Rivers®.

I broke into tears when I read it.

I confess to being a bit emotional recently. I’ve been told that it’s a common problem with people who have had death or near-death events and develop a heightened sense of what is or has been important in their life. I had my own near-death experience two months ago and now wear a portable defibrillator.

Seeing the Vermilion River in the paper brought back a favorite memory of my dad, H. Gordon Hanson, a great guy who died way too young. I had high hopes for more quality bonding time with him after he took early retirement from his job. His job? He was a biologist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In the early days of his career, it seemed like his job was to try and make the pillage of our environment “look pretty.” But then, the word “environment” became more important. He gave me his copy of “Silent Spring”, the anti-pesticide book by Rachel Carson, to read shortly after it came out. Eventually, his job title was changed from just “Biologist” to “Chief of Environmental Resources Division” for the Army Corps.

For those of you who enjoy fishing for Coho salmon in Lake Michigan, my dad deserves more than a tip of the hat. He was involved in many projects like that during his career with the Army Corps.

He was also largely responsible for the development of recreational areas on Army Corps property along the upper Mississippi. Many campgrounds on Army Corps property there and throughout the Midwest were due to his efforts. If you’ve camped at any of them you can thank my dad.

While I was a student at the University of Illinois in Champaign, Dad came down to spend a little time with me. He suggested that we take – what appeared on the map to be – a reasonably short float down the Vermilion River. He had our clunky old aluminum canoe strapped to the top of the car. The Vermilion was not known as a float stream back in those days, and we soon found out why. It took all of our strength on umpteen occasions to lift that canoe over massive logjams and downed trees. We arrived at our takeout point well after dark. Dad had to hitch a ride (in the dark) to go back and get our car.

Of all my memories of time spent with my dad, that “gentle” float trip down the Vermilion River has been a favorite. Part of his legacy that I cherish is that he had a big part in rivers like the Vermilion becoming National Scenic Rivers. I wonder if I was an unknowing member of his scouting mission that day.

Polluters like Dynegy and others have tried to tarnish my father’s legacy in Illinois and where I live in Michigan. Lake Michigan continues to be threatened with horrific environmental damage if and when Line 5 bursts beneath the Straits of Mackinac.

Our current leadership – or lack thereof – in Washington and in state capitals across the country tell us they want to roll back regulations that protect valuable resources like the Middle Fork Vermilion River.

I have good reason to be crying.

Please send a letter to Governor Rauner and Illinois EPA Director Alec Messina asking them to ensure this toxic waste will be removed and relocated to a properly-constructed, lined, and monitored facility far from the Middle Fork.

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Editor’s Note:  A more recent article has been published on this issue in the Chicago Tribune. Check it out!

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Author: Brian Hanson

Brian Hanson is an advocate for healthy rivers in Illinois.

 

 

This guest blog was written by the Board of Directors of the United Tribes of Bristol Bay. It is a part of our blog series on America’s Most Endangered Rivers® Rivers of Bristol Bay.

Salmon season is just beginning in Bristol Bay, Alaska. Lots of things are happening this time of year. First, the air fills with the sound of swallows. Then, kings start swimming into our rivers. The first catch is celebrated. Nets are set, and smokehouses fill with strips. This is the way spring has turned to summer each year for generations. But the proposed Pebble Mine threatens that sacred life cycle which we hold dear.

The people of Southwest Alaska have thrived on the clean waters, abundant wildlife, pristine lands and the strong cultural traditions of our region since time immemorial. Our people have a resilient, respectful, and peaceful way of life, grounded in the earth’s provisions and dedicated to honoring our ancestors.

The Pebble Mine threatens more than just our land and waters, and it is more than a disruption of our daily, seasonal and annual activities, our abundant wildlife, and our strong salmon runs. The proposed Pebble Mine is a threat to our livelihood, our people, our culture and our way of life. Our ancestors have not just survived, but thrived, as a unified people for thousands of years because of the natural bounty the earth provides. Developing this mine would go against all that our culture celebrates and relies upon.

For generations, the Dena’ina, Yup’ik, and Alutiiq people of Bristol Bay taught their children to honor the land for what it provides and to hold sacred the water for all it sustains. Our connection to the land and water is what makes us who we are as a people. Salmon, moose, caribou, seals, geese and other wildlife not only provide sustenance, but also ground us in our culture, in a seasonal way-of-life. The natural world is intertwined in our story-telling, dance, clothing, spirituality and all of the other traditions that we teach to our younger generations.

The executives at the Pebble Partnership claim there will not be harmful impacts to fish, that our culture will not be disrupted, that mining and clean water can co-exist, but we know better. They’ve already proven themselves wrong, mistreating the land in exploration activities and attempting to buy local support.

Nearly twenty years ago, when this project came to light, our elders warned us of the harm that the Pebble Mine would bring. They knew that the mine would bring irreversible impacts: polluted waters, disruption of our hunting and fishing grounds, and a loss of culture as we lose these key components of who we are. Extensive scientific research has since proven what we already knew to be true: Pebble is the wrong mine in the wrong place.

The people of Bristol Bay have stood together to protect our region from Pebble, and we will never back down. We will not give up our livelihoods for the profits of a foreign mining company. Clean water is the lifeblood of our people. It runs like veins throughout our region, sustaining every facet of our lives. In Bristol Bay, we have a resource more precious than gold, and we will not stop fighting to protect it.

Please join the United Tribes of Bristol Bay and American Rivers in asking the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to defend indigenous peoples, commercial fishermen, wild salmon and clean water by rejecting Pebble’s mining permit application.

Sign-on by June 27^th to be included in our petition!

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Author:  United Tribes of Bristol Bay Board of Directors

United Tribes of Bristol Bay (UTBB) is the first tribally chartered consortium in the Bristol Bay region of Southwest Alaska. UTBB’s mission is to protect the lands and waters that support the traditional way of life of the indigenous people of Bristol Bay by advocating against unsustainable large-scale hard rock mines like the Pebble Project.

This month, the Arizona House of Representatives’ Committee on Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources is holding a series of special meetings – one in Kingman (June 13th), one in Camp Verde (June 15th), and one in Buckeye (June 20th). The goal of these meetings is to give legislators a chance to learn about constituents’ concerns regarding water supplies and to investigate potential solutions to the water issues facing our state.

Representative Rusty Bowers and Senator Gail Griffin will chair the meetings, and other legislators will also attend. Of particular interest will be a discussion about the Lower Basin States of Arizona, California, and Nevada, and their diligent efforts working on a Drought Contingency Plan (DCP) to stave off shortages in the Colorado River, which Mexico has also joined. It is critical that Arizona Department of Water Resources be authorized by the Legislature to sign Arizona on to the DCP, and to speak as “the one voice” for Arizona’s Colorado River users.

All citizens wishing to make their views known are encouraged to attend, fill out a speaker slip and present their views.

This is a great opportunity to tell your state officials directly your opinions about Arizona’s rivers and sustainable supply of clean, safe, and reliable drinking water. We hope you can join!

• Kingman
  • When:Wednesday, June 13th at 2pm (detailed agenda)
  • Where: Mohave County Administration Building (700 W Beale St, Kingman, AZ 86401)
• Camp Verde
  • When:Friday, June 15th at 10am (agenda)
  • Where: Cliff Castle Casino Hotel Conference Center (555 W Middle Verde Rd, Camp Verde, AZ 86322)
• Buckeye
  • When:Wednesday, June 20th at 10am (agenda)
  • Where: Palo Verde Nuclear Education Center (Palo Verde Nuclear Education Center (600 N Airport Rd, Buckeye, AZ 85326)

For several years, an array of Colorado River Upper Basin stakeholders, including state agencies, farmers and ranchers, conservationists and municipal water managers have been partnering on innovative water conservation pilot projects to help ensure healthy flows and habitat in the river, maintain levels in Lake Powell and protect our vibrant agricultural communities.

Additional support is needed, though, to turn those pilot projects into a sustained, effective demand management and system conservation program that includes a water bank in Lake Powell to store the conserved water. Expanded funding for these projects will help implement market-based solutions on a larger scale to maintain healthy flows in the Colorado River and sustain the jobs, wildlie and communities that depend on it. Additionally, states will need to enact water policies and procedures that allow water conserved through these projects to be left in the river and allowed to reach Lake Powell.

In Episode 11 of We Are Rivers, we explore the ideas and efforts behind expanded demand management and increased conservation across the Upper Basin with Scott Yates of Trout Unlimited and Taylor Hawes of The Nature Conservancy, both of whom are deeply integrated into the nuance and detail of developing a system that works for everyone who relies on the Colorado River, as well as the long-term, sustainable health of the Colorado River itself.

Listen to We Are Rivers Episode 11: How Water Management and Flexibility Can Save the Colorado River today!

Rocky Point is coming back to life. Local residents of Choppee, South Carolina and the surrounding area remember a vibrant past at Rocky Point. A popular hangout for locals, Rocky Point once provided a great gathering place for Fourth of July picnics, afternoons jumping into the Black River from a rope swing on the bluff, sunning on the river’s small sandy beaches, and launching boats for a day on the to fish or paddle on the river or on Choppee Creek. By the end of the summer, locals will once again be able to experience these activities at the new Rocky Point Community Forest.

After five long years, Rocky Point is nearly ready to reopen to the public. The valuable piece of river frontage and forest was secured for conservation as a Community Forest. Thanks to Winyah Rivers Foundation, Georgetown County Parks and Recreation, The Nature Conservancy, and the Open Space Institute and the generous support of the North American Wetland Conservation Act program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the South Carolina Conservation Bank, the Duke Water Resources Fund, the Carolina Bird Club, and the Butler Conservation Fund, Rocky Point Community Forest provides and protects 650+ acres and 1.8 miles of river and creek front for passive recreation and education.

When it was purchased, Rocky Point joined a network of over 12,000+ acres of protected land throughout the Black River Watershed. Since it holds a South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Scenic River designation, there is a focus on the conservation of the natural and cultural character of the Black River corridor. In line with this mission, the forests of Rocky Point will be restored and managed sustainably and the wetlands and wildlife will be protected.

Rocky Point Community Forest will provide opportunities for recreation, education, restoration and conservation. At the beginning of the summer, construction began for a paved boat ramp, kayak launch, primitive parking and picnic. A simple trail network will be expanded upon as the project continues to mature. Community members will be able to enjoy the area as they did once before. The first of its kind in the area, the community forest will serve as an outdoor classroom for forestry students, land owners and the general public to further their understanding of the sustainable forestry methods used on site. Restoration of a 200 year old cemetery enhanced the cultural resources of the land in addition to the surrounding forest. Restoration of the forest to longleaf pine where appropriate will help manage and maintain the ecological integrity of the forest. Conserving these lands will protect both the regional ecosystem integrity as well as the services the forests, wetlands and river provide to the public.

The future of the Rocky Point Community Forest is bright with opportunity. Providing a public place for community members to connect with the Black River and the forest is important to preservation of our natural resources. Soon Rocky Point will be alive once more.

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Author: Emma Boyer, Winyah Rivers Foundation

Emma joined Winyah Rivers as the Waccamaw Riverkeeper in 2015, leading the organization’s education and advocacy efforts until May 2017 when she stepped down as a result of growing her family. At that time, Emma took on a part-time role with Winyah Rivers to advance our organization’s involvement in the acquisition of the Rocky Point property on the Black River and the Singleton property on the Waccamaw River. Emma continues as Winyah Rivers part-time Land Officer. Emma has a Master’s Degree in Environmental Science and Policy and a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology.

The Chattooga River may be famous for its rapids, and being the site for the filming of Deliverance, but it’s now being celebrated for its status as a United States Wild & Scenic River. The Chattooga takes its name from “Tsa-tu-gi,” an old Cherokee village on the river. The word has no other meaning in Cherokee, and whatever it once meant in Creek has long since been forgotten. What has not been forgotten is the tremendous effort that was taken to designate 57 miles of the river, and 15,432 acres of its surrounding land, as federally-protected river corridor under the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act.

On May 10^th, 1974 the Chattooga River was designated Wild & Scenic by Congress. Flowing through North Carolina, Georgia and South Carolina, the Chattooga is recognized as one of the Southeast’s premier whitewater rivers. It begins in mountainous North Carolina as small rivulets, nourished by springs and abundant rainfall. High on the slopes of the Appalachian Mountains near Whiteside Mountain is the start of a long journey that ends at Lake Tugaloo between South Carolina and Georgia, dropping almost 1/2-mile in elevation along the way.

Flowing through three national forests, the river is one of the few remaining free-flowing streams in the Southeast. It offers outstanding scenery, ranging from thundering falls and twisting rock-choked channels to narrow, cliff-enclosed deep pools. Dense forests and undeveloped shorelines characterize the primitive nature of the area.

The Wild & Scenic Rivers Act, the federal legislation that protects rivers deemed to preserve certain rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values, was passed in October of 1968. The Act is notable for safeguarding the special character of now over 200 of these rivers, while also recognizing the potential for their appropriate use and development. It encourages river management that crosses political boundaries and promotes public participation in developing goals for river protection.

With 2018 being the 50^th anniversary of the Act, land managers, conservation groups, paddlers and other river enthusiasts nation-wide have been celebrating the Act’s impact by visiting and paddling these places and sharing information on the success of this historic and unique form of protection.

As just one of many events, River Management Society organized a celebratory paddle/rafting trip for local and regional river conservation organizations’ staff and members, as well as other river enthusiasts, to gather and further grow the conversation surrounding southeastern river conservation.

American Rivers joined staff and members of River Management Society, American Whitewater, United States Forest Service, Sumter National Forest, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, MountainTrue, City of Hendersonville, NC and City of Columbia, SC for a paddle trip on Section 3 of the Chattooga River. There were 12 rafters and 7 kayakers. The plethora of organizations present laid host to wonderful conversations on river conservation work, paddling adventures, Wild & Scenic River planning, and a contagious feeling of inspiration across water enthusiasts towards the good work being done to protect and advocate for our nation’s waterways.

When this trip was first being planned, early in the year, the organizers were worried about the water being too low, however strong spring rains brought the free-flowing Chattooga to a relatively high level and ended up providing the group’s trip with plenty of flow.  While many of the kayakers opted to depart the river midway down at Sandy Ford, prior to entering the rivers’ tougher obstacles, the daring rafters and their skilled guides continued downstream into the classics of Section 3 including rapids named ‘Narrows,’ ‘Second Ledge,’ ‘Eye of the Needle,’ ‘Painted Rock,’ and ‘Bull Sluice.’

 

Trip participants enjoyed conversations with their fellow river conservation companions and colleagues. Some folks had known each other across organizations and agencies for several years, collaborating on conservation work, while other attendees had the chance to meet long-time heroes. New relationships were formed, and the river offered a friendly and open environment to converse on regional water conservation, protection and recreation work, and informally learn about one-another’s work. Bringing together staff from three of nation’s leading river-conservation and management groups – River Management Society, American Rivers and American Whitewater, as well as several state and local groups, was a unique experience of which the impact-of would not be soon forgotten.

Wildwater Rafting Outfitters, in Long Creek South Carolina, hosted the entire group, and guided the trip’s commercial rafters down the river. The Chattooga River is where it all began for Wildwater; they were the first commercial outfitter to run the river in 1971 and have ever-since held a reputation for safety, responsibility, skill and advocacy towards paddle travel on many sections of the Chattooga River. Our guides handled the high water with skill and tact, and provided the guests with a wonderful experience.

With this year being the 50^th Anniversary of the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act, American Rivers encourages everyone to explore, and advocate for, wild and scenic rivers of all kinds. Check out www.rivers.gov/wsr50/ to learn about Wild & Scenic Rivers in your area, and how to get involved with them!

Other links:

The Wild President: https://vimeo.com/213281194

https://www.rivers.gov/rivers/chattooga.php

https://www.5000miles.org/share-your-story/

Like many American families, road trips were a big part of my upbringing. Every summer, my parents would pack up our red Chevy Blazer and we’d hop in the car in pursuit of our next big adventure. Regardless of our destination and the time it took to arrive, my brother and I would always play the license plate game, each determined to beat the other in finding all 26 letters of the alphabet exclusively on license plates. Not only did the game fuel our competitive spirits, it also helped pass what seemed like days to get to our destination.

While I haven’t played the license plate game in quite a few years, I can’t help but check out the different plates when I’m on the road. Who knew there were so many different plates available. It wasn’t until I was much older that I learned many of these designs actually raise money and build awareness about important issues to state residents.

Here in Colorado, and just north of us in Montana, rivers are making a statement on license plates.

In Colorado, American Rivers partnered with Colorado Trout Unlimited, Audubon and the Colorado Watershed Assembly to build support for rivers across the state. In Montana, American Rivers worked with Bozeman artist Rachel Pohl to depict the North Fork of the Flathead River, one of Montana’s four Wild & Scenic Rivers, on their license plate.

If you’re a resident of Colorado or Montana, show your support for rivers by purchasing and proudly displaying a river-themed license plate on your vehicle! All money raised goes toward the conservation, protection and restoration of rivers and streams in Colorado and Montana respectively. So whether you’re a farmer, kayaker, hunter, rafter or angler – or just someone who appreciates the natural beauty that rivers bring to our landscape – these license plate shows your willingness to put your money where your interest lies!

Purchase a Colorado Protect Our Rivers license plate here (to donate to American Rivers, put our name in the “Partner Code” box) and read up on a few Frequently Asked Questions.

Purchase a Montana Wild Rivers license plate here (scroll to the second line to find American Rivers’ plate).

Who knows, maybe I’ll bring back the license plate game this summer. One thing I do know, I’ll be on the lookout for more river themed license plates!

The following guest blog by Clark Bullard is part of our America’s Most Endangered Rivers® series on the Middle Fork of the Vermilion River in Illinois.

What? One of America’s National Scenic Rivers is on this year’s top 10 list of America’s Most Endangered Rivers®?  That’s not supposed to happen.

The Middle Fork of the Vermilion River is an oasis of natural beauty and ecosystem health in the middle of North America’s Great Corn and Bean Desert. Thirty years after being rescued from the dam builders, this treasured river ecosystem is now threatened by three million cubic yards of coal ash, dumped 40 feet deep adjacent to the riverbank behind a long-abandoned power plant. The dump is owned by Dynegy, which emerged from bankruptcy a few years ago and prefers the “cap and run” approach to shedding its responsibility for the arsenic and other toxins that are oozing orange leachate out of their unlined ash dumps.

The lesson here is simple: laws and regulations alone do not protect rivers, people do.

In the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, a massive 22-year nonpartisan all volunteer grassroots campaign was waged to stop a dam project that would have flooded the Middle Fork valley; this fight ultimately led to the Middle Fork of the Vermilion’s National Scenic River designation. For the first 10 years, 10,000 acres of land were bought while the project inched forward, construction appropriations were defeated, and studies were conducted. Then in 1976, 60,000 petition signatures were collected the old-fashioned way, representing every county in the state. A bipartisan collection of state legislators who received 10,000 handwritten letters from their constituents believed that facts mattered, and were impressed by facts about one of Illinois’ best aquatic ecosystems. The dam project was stopped.

Environmental victories are always temporary, but losses are permanent. The Middle Fork is no exception. A dozen years after the dam project was defeated, the Middle Fork of the Vermilion River was designated as a state scenic river, and the Illinois state legislature directed the Governor to apply for National Scenic River status to ensure that the river remained free-flowing.

The National Park Service’s endorsement of the National Scenic River designation was the strongest to date on the river’s “outstandingly remarkable values” in all 6 categories: scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife, historic and archaeological. However, die-hard reservoir proponents lobbied President Ronald Reagan’s lame duck Interior Department Secretary, who rejected the National Park Service’s recommendation and denied Illinois’ request. Again, the statewide citizens group wasted no time persuading the state’s bipartisan congressional delegation to co-sign a letter to be carried by the Republican Governor to President Bush’s newly-appointed Interior Department Secretary. It worked. Since 1989, the Middle Fork of the Vermilion River has been safe from dam projects, but remains vulnerable to other risks.

Now, 55 years’ worth of toxic coal ash remain where they were dumped on the river bank – an ugly but localized scar along a 17-mile stretch of otherwise public land. Rivers own their floodplains, so it is only a matter of time before a catastrophic failure of the ‘ash dam’ carries toxins an unpredictable distance downriver, harming people and wildlife along the way.

Dynegy needs to stop polluting the Middle Fork with their coal ash and take responsibility for the waste they’ve dumped next to the river. Future generations of taxpayers shouldn’t have to cover for Dynegy’s negligence.

Dynegy is being sued for violating the Clean Water Act by Prairie Rivers Network, which was formed in the late 1960s to stop dam projects throughout the Midwest, including this one. As that generation of founders and activists passes the baton to a new generation, we take this opportunity to express our gratitude again to the staff of American Rivers, who provided inspiration and valuable advice during our campaign to secure the National Scenic River designation 30 years ago. We can only hope that the next generation of activists remembers the words of David Brower: “This generation will decide if something untrammeled and free remains, as testimony that we had love for those who follow.”

TAKE ACTION TODAY!

Please send a letter to Governor Rauner and Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Director Alec Messina asking them to ensure this toxic waste will be removed and relocated to a properly-constructed, lined, and monitored facility far from the Middle Fork.

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Author:  Clark Bullard

Clark Bullard was one of the first board members of the coalition that became Prairie Rivers Network.