Last week I had the opportunity to spend two glorious days in Eagle County, Colorado exploring the Upper Colorado and one of its tributaries in Central Colorado, the Eagle River. Joined by a few of my colleagues, we partook in one of my favorite summer activities: floating a river. These two rivers are a destination for families and adventurers wanting to fish, float and enjoy the beautiful river and canyon.

The Upper Colorado and Eagle are surrounded by ranches and natural canyons with tall cliffs and steep slopes. Formations of sandstone, shale and volcanic intrusions gaze down at the river as you float pass. Spruce trees, cottonwoods and a variety of other riverside shrubs border the river. In the distance, forests can be seen climbing the mountains, with various shrubs and grasses in the lower foothills.

Smooth and playful rapids are dispersed throughout the two rivers. Family friendly rafting, tubing and wading are common occurrences during the hot summer months.  From small children to dogs, teens and families, seeing people enjoying and connecting with their river, their special place is a delight.

Fly-fishing fanatics have found a home on these rivers in Central Colorado. Many public access points are dispersed along the river where fisherman wading or boating with a fly rod in hand are the norm. Cool, shaded ponds line the river where Brown and Rainbow trout can be caught with ease. If you are lucky, you might catch a Cutthroat or Brook trout as well, but these are much less common.

If fishing isn’t your thing but birding and wildlife viewing catches your fancy, these rivers are for you. Last week I saw my first wild bald eagle soaring high above us as we floated down the Eagle.  Seeing this magnificent bird flying high instilled a feeling of pride, reminding myself how great it is we live in a country where we can protect such beautiful and important rivers. Additionally, blue herons, ducks, geese and other raptors are commonly seen. If furry animals are more your speed, fox, sheep, beaver, and an occasional deer or elk roam the riverside as well.

Spending time on your local river, your favorite treasured place, is something we can all do more of in the summer. The Eagle and Upper Colorado are two very special places in Colorado. Not only do these two rivers offer a place for the local community and tourists to get out on the river and have fun, but they also provide the community with a strong economy and sense of place.

Where are your special places?

“This all has far exceeded our expectations” Rockingham, NC mayor Steve Morris told American Rivers’ President Bob Irvin and me as he drove us on an early May day to the Roberdel Access. We were going to kayak down the Hitchcock Creek Blue Trail to celebrate its official opening.

The Mayor proudly admitted to taking us the long way to show off some of his community’s highlights. To our right we passed a pick-up truck, its bed stuffed with four kayaks. “See, they’re not even part of our group” the mayor exclaimed.

In 2009, American Rivers helped the City and other partners remove the Steeles Mill Dam which for more than 100 years had clogged Hitchcock Creek, blocked access for families wanting to boat or fish, and caused stagnant conditions which lowered oxygen levels and choked aquatic life. We then collaborated with the City to develop the Blue Trail to connect the community to the creek, improve recreational access and protect its natural setting. Once a forgotten stream, thousands now use Hitchcock Creek even before the Blue Trail officially opened.

Blue Trails help people discover rivers, provide connections to communities and the outdoors, and are economic drivers that benefit local economies and quality of life. The City of Rockingham understands this. Once the economic hub of the area, all of the textile and paper mills in Rockingham many of them on Hitchcock Creek closed during the final decades of the past century. The city had a new vision for its community and turned to Hitchcock Creek as a focal point of its economic future. Following the removal of Steeles Mill Dam, American Rivers and the City developed the Blue Trail which runs 14 miles starting in Rockingham, courses through floodplain forests, passes remnants of old mills and is home to many rare plants and animals. The Blue Trail offers not only an intimate recreational setting, but also an opportunity to learn about the area’s history and natural places.

River recreation is not only good fun; it’s good business, too. Three out of every four Americans participate in active outdoor recreation each year and paddle sports are among the fastest growing segments of the industry. All of this outdoor activity generates 1.6 million jobs in industries including manufacturing, leisure and hospitality, transportation, and wholesale and retail trade. That’s why the increasing popularity of Blue Trails in our region is a good thing for our economy.

After our two-hour paddle along river banks bounded by massive trees and blooming rhododendron, we arrived at the Steele Street Access. The solitude of Hitchcock Creek was broken by the throng of people there to participate in the official opening ceremony of the Blue Trail. Camera crews filmed, elected official shook hands and a red ribbon was strung before one of the footbridges that crisscross the creek as part of a greenway. Excitement filled the air as the ribbon was cut. The city’s vision for Hitchcock Creek had become a reality. A once forgotten creek had been transformed into a community treasure. The community abuzz with the Blue Trail, and knowing that American Rivers helped fulfill the city’s vision through funding, technical support and a lot of hard work was a reward that far exceeded my expectations.

Editor’s note: The author wrote this column on behalf of Eagle River Watershed Council.

The Eagle River | Photo by Ken Neubecker

Colorado is blessed with many rivers that flow from melting winter snows to the sea crossing nearly a third of the country. These rivers support the significant recreation economy of Colorado’s mountain communities. Fishing, rafting, kayaking, skiing and the many golf courses all depend on sustainable water flowing in these rivers systems. These same rivers also support many thriving ranches and farms along their journey.

The rivers themselves are the living heart of the most important wildlife habitat in the West, where water is often the single most precious resource. These vibrant ribbons of life are also at the heart of why so many of us love and live in the West.

Eagle County hosts two of these great rivers, the Eagle and Colorado, as they flow west toward Utah and the great canyons of the Colorado Plateau. The watershed of the Eagle lies almost entirely within the county’s borders, something unique in Colorado. The Eagle River Watershed Council advocates for the health and conservation of the Upper Colorado and Eagle River basins in the county through research, education and projects.

American Rivers, a national river conservation organization, has developed a program of Blue Trails to help people connect with special rivers. The Blue Trail program works with local partners, like the Watershed Council, to link communities and their rivers through access, recreation and informed stewardship. It also helps foster a sense of “ownership” for the rivers and the lands through which they flow and support. Local citizens are now working to develop Blue Trails on the Eagle and Upper Colorado from State Bridge to Dotsero.

People in Eagle County have long cared for these rivers. The efforts to clean up the Eagle Mine Superfund site, the fight for the river and wilderness in the Homestake II case and the earlier efforts to keep Denver Water’s Eagle-Piney project at bay and I-70 from destroying the Gore Creek Valley above East Vail are examples of the Eagle Valley’s determination to protect its rivers.

Today the Eagle Valley is home to a new generation who are the heirs of these past efforts on behalf of the Eagle and Colorado rivers. The Eagle River Blue Trail project is working with groups like the Eagle River Watershed Council, Eagle County, municipalities, outfitters and recreation organizations to strengthen the community ties to the rivers.

At the heart of the Eagle River Blue Trail will be a tremendous source of information about the rivers, access and recreation opportunities. Eagle County, the Eagle Valley Land Trust and others have acquired new land parcels along both rivers, opening up greater opportunities to enjoy the Eagle and Colorado.

These parcels join many other access points and lands. The Eagle River Blue Trail project will provide a single source for all of these places, from Tennessee Pass and Rancho Del Rio down to Dotsero where the two rivers join.

American Rivers will continue to partner with the community and local organizations to promote, preserve and protect Eagle County rivers. Join the Eagle River Watershed Council and American Rivers on Wednesday, March 19, at 6 p.m. in the Eagle Library for a Watershed Wednesday program on the Eagle River Blue Trail project. We want to hear from you: your thoughts, ideas and concerns. The Eagle and Colorado Rivers face new challenges, and a new generation of residents and visitors alike who care for them. Get to know these rivers better and help make a Blue Trail that can serve the Eagle and Colorado into the future.

Ken Neubecker is the Eagle River Blue Trails coordinator for American Rivers. Ken served as the president of the board of directors for the Eagle River Watershed Council and remains closely tied with the organization. Contact Ken at ken.neubecker@americanrivers.org. The Eagle River Watershed Council has a mission to advocate for the health and conservation of the Upper Colorado and Eagle River basins through research, education, and projects. Learn more at erwc.org.

It’s a really exciting time for our work along the Waccamaw! In recent months we’ve partnered with a local chamber of commerce to promote ecotourism and build support for conservation along the Waccamaw River Blue Trail, South Carolina’s only National Water Trail. One of the projects we’re working on with the Georgetown County Chamber of Commerce is through an advertisement in Guest Quest that showcases the Blue Trail as one of the area’s premier tourist attractions.

Another way in which we are working to enhance recreation is through a unique partnership with a corporate sponsor that provided funding to install directional signage along the trail as well as interpretive information, picnic tables, and Carolina Fence gardens at three key landings. In addition, we were able to make improvements to canoe and kayak launches within the City of Conway and at the Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge’s Cox Ferry Recreation Area.

All of these efforts are aimed at building support for increased river recreation in the region and promoting enhanced conservation along the Waccamaw. Our goal is to help build a larger and more diverse constituency that recognizes the economic, recreation, and conservation values a healthy Waccamaw River provides the community.

Eagle County in Colorado has moved one step closer to adding well over a mile on the Eagle River to open space and public access. Last week the County signed a contract for purchase with the owners of the old Horn Ranch in the heart of Red Canyon. The Horn Ranch, one of the most scenic reaches along the Eagle River and I-70, lies in the middle of the Eagle Valley, between Vail and the towns of Eagle and Gypsum.

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The County’s purchase will acquire lands south of I-70 along the river and southerly uplands in Red Canyon along with a conservation easement on the remaining ranch lands north of the interstate highway. It will also link BLM public lands along the river from Wolcott upstream through the rest of Red Canyon downstream.

This is a huge boon for those who love to fish and float on the Eagle River! The ranch owners and Eagle County Open Space have been working on this deal for a long time, and it should close later this year. Eagle County plans to build a single access point and parking area on the western end of the property with a recreation trail along the north side of the river.

American Rivers was proud to support this great project by giving testimony at the county commissioner’s meeting in last week. We applaud Eagle County in this successful and significant addition to its open space system!

With parts of the country and the West slowly, tenuously re-opening, we know people are loading up trailers and trucks, putting air in tires and crafts, dusting off sun hats and heading out the door to visit places they miss, and do the things that make them feel whole.

But the world has changed, is indeed still changing underfoot, and in our desire to get back out there, the checklist of what to bring might be better served as a checklist of how we recreate in ways that are thoughtful and considerate not just toward the places we go, but the people we encounter there.

With that in mind, and in celebration of June as National Rivers Month, we compiled tips for recreating thoughtfully during a time when COVID-19 is causing stress for, well everyone, but especially front-line workers and small, rural communities at the gateway to popular recreation hotspots.

1) Consider Your Impact

This isn’t a new concept; for those of us who rely on wild lands and rivers for our well-being, we know how critical it is that we care for them—that we move consciously through them and measure our gains with the long-term impacts our presence may pose. That same ethos can serve us well in the time of COVID if we expand our lens to the gateway communities that often rely on places we love for revenue from tourism, and are also often rural, with limited health and emergency resources. It’s the job of every recreationist now (and perhaps always) to consider how their added presence in a place contributes or detracts from the community (or communities) that call that place their permanent home by knowing and respecting all local guidelines and restrictions for going out and recreating. And, of course, by following #6.

2) Forget the Parks

In a recent article for High Country News, Craig Childs wrote: “Forget the parks; seek out the spaces in between, the backyards and alleys. It’s a great time to explore an irrigation ditch or the woods at the edge of town — to see what’s around you…”. Let Craig’s charge serve as a challenge: what nearby plot of public land or stretch of river, back alley or small park, might not be “the best”, but that you could come to know without putting others, or yourself, at risk?  

3) Stay Close (to home)

In many states, recreationists are restricted in terms of how far they can travel to ride a bike or get on the water. In Colorado, for example, residents were encouraged to travel no more than 10 miles from home to recreate.  Even as those restrictions change, and they will, we know that people visiting hotspots and then travelling home, or coming from a hotspot to a rural mountain town, is part of how the virus spread in the first place. Those places will remain (if we fight for them – see #7), and now is the time for patience.

4) Take Some Distance (from others)

You can honor social distancing recommendations and still be out. Get creative. Consider small crafts, like packrafts or kayaks, rather than cramming big crews into one raft. Enjoy smaller groups of friends. Maybe take some alone time. Consider non-peak hours – set the alarm earlier, or take an off-hour lunch break. Maybe your new at-home schedule means you can recreate during the week days, and log Zoom calls on the weekends. Whatever the trick, keep away from the crowds, and when you can’t – wear a mask. Masks are more about keeping others safe around you than protecting yourself (think #1 here).  

5) Look close, hold still

Writer Krista Langlois recently penned a piece called “The Beauty of Staying Still” for the Adventure Journal. In it, she argues for the intimacy that comes with slow, unstructured time spent in a place, and offers up an alternate way for understanding our current reality: “staying still doesn’t have to be a sentence. It can be a gift.”

6) If You’re Sick, Please

We probably don’t have to say it, but we will, because even if you think you’re being cautious, this wildly contagious virus is outmaneuvering our understanding of it. Even if you think “aha”, I’ll go solo, any encounter with people or the places they visit can put them at risk. Stay home and off the trail for at least two weeks. Rest. Get well. And, while you’re staying the course and making sure you don’t expose others, become a couch warrior for the places you can’t wait to visit once you’re able and allowed.

7) The Fight Goes On

Take some of the time at home to get educated, up-to-speed, and to advocate for the rivers and places you miss. They aren’t going anywhere, unless we let them. If we stay vigilant, those sanctuaries will still be there when we can visit again without putting communities and fellow humans at risk. When it comes to rivers, there are some things you can do at home, starting today. First, thank Senators Udall and Heinrich for introducing a bill to designate the Gila River in New Mexico as Wild & Scenic. Next, let’s protect our vital headwaters streams by opposing the rollback of the Clean Water Rule. Finally, discover how rivers act as an economic engine, for nearly every small town and city across the country.

Finally, don’t forget what rivers mean—all the ways they matter. Sure, they’re important for bringing you together with people care about. But they’re also timeliness in a way this pandemic isn’t. That gentle rocking of the boat, the technicolor reflection at last light, the soothing (or unnerving) churn of water in motion—those are things that have been and will be well beyond this pandemic. Lean into the memory and solace of them. Lean into each other. We’re all on this wild ride, this river, together—even if we’re in different boats.

This past week President Biden unveiled his American Jobs Plan, proposing a nearly $2.3 trillion investment in our national infrastructure. A game-changing investment of this size in modernizing our infrastructure and fighting the effects of climate change is a necessary step, but the question remains, does this bold plan do enough for rivers?

Last year we wrote the Rivers as Economic Engines report, which identifies a $500 billion need over the next 10 years in order to properly support for our waters. This includes investing $200 billion for improving water infrastructure, $200 billion for modernizing flood managements, and $100 billion for restoring watersheds in our community. President Biden exemplifies his own commitment to our nation’s water resources through his American Jobs Plan, which includes $111 billion to revitalize our nation’s antiquated water systems.

“Too many American families drink polluted water, lack access to affordable, high-speed internet, or experience power outages too often – all while paying more for those services. President Biden’s plan invests in the infrastructure necessary to finally deliver the water, broadband, and electricity service that Americans deserve.”

In an effort to remediate lead exposure in homes, schools and childcare facilities, President Biden aims to eliminate lead pipes and service lines completely by investing $45 billion in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and in Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN) grants. To address the myriad of other issues facing our aging water systems, President Biden will modernize these systems by investing $56 billion in grants and low-cost flexible loans to states, Tribes, territories, and disadvantaged communities across the country. President Biden plans to stymie our nation’s most concerning emerging contaminants by allocating $10 billion to remediate and monitor PFAS in drinking water, and to invest in rural and small water systems.

“President Biden’s plan will protect and, where necessary, restore nature-based infrastructure – our lands, forests, wetlands, watersheds, and coastal and ocean resources. Families and businesses throughout the United States rely on this infrastructure for their lives and livelihoods.”

The American Jobs Plan maximizes the resilience of land and water resources by directing Congress to invest in protecting communities by building coastal resilience to sea-level rise and hurricanes. Congress is also directed to invest in the protection and restoration of major land and water resources like Florida’s Everglades National Park and the Great Lakes. In addition, President Biden takes aim at the western drought crisis by investing in water efficiency and recycling programs, Tribal Water Settlements, and dam safety.

American Rivers applauds President Biden’s commitment to restoring watersheds, providing clean water, modernizing water infrastructure, and addressing water scarcity. The American Jobs Plan has the opportunity to re-energize our country and refocus our needs towards our most vital resource, water.

While this is a good start, it will not get us across the finish line. To finish the fight, American Rivers calls for investments of an additional $200 billion for improving water infrastructure, $200 billion for modernizing flood management, and $100 billion for restoring watersheds in our communities. With these added investments, we feel we move closer to a future of clean water and healthy rivers everywhere, for everyone.

Most fly fishermen are familiar with the Battenkill in Vermont and NY as an iconic trout stream in American fishing. The Orvis Company headquarters are located along it, and they named one of their most popular reels after it. Renowned fly fishing author John Merwin called it “my favorite place,” and John Atherton said it was “the most difficult of rivers and yet the most rewarding in the things which count the most.”

Having fished it earlier this year on a trip to the American Museum of Fly Fishing in Manchester, VT, I had a chance to see first-hand what a beautiful stream it is, and how much fun it is to bring its fine trout to hand.

While there in Manchester, I also had a chance to visit the Dufrense Dam which had blocked the river there in Manchester for over 100 years, creating a pond that was so full of silt that there was actually a silt island in the middle of it.

The dam, like so many built in New England at that time, originally provided power for a nearby mill. It hasn’t served that purpose since the ‘40s, so for all of those years since, it has done what dams do to trout streams: block fish access to historic spawning grounds, inhibit seasonal movements up and down stream, warm the water above its natural temperature, reduce oxygen levels, and hold back nutrients from the downstream sections…all of which are bad news for the wild trout.

It was a significant structure: 12 feet high and over 250 feet across. I’m glad to say “was”, because in early September the dam was removed by a partnership between the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and American Rivers, as noted on the Vermont.gov website.

Amy Singler, our dam removal specialist for this project, said, “Having helped with the early survey work in the impoundment, it is fantastic to see the river return and know the impact it will have for river habitat up and downstream.”

This dam removal is a good example of the kind or work we do, such as assisting with initial concept design, technical consulting, surveying, and in some cases project management, obtaining permits, performing fundraising, and submitting grant proposals.

The wonderful result of this work with our partners is that the Battenkill’s wild brown and brook trout will now have access to another six miles of spawning habitat on the Battenkill, not counting additional tributaries, and improved habitat in terms of oxygen levels and water temperature…all of which is great news for the trout.

Thinking back to when I first saw the dam and the impoundment, I had said to Brian Graber, the national leader of our dam removal program, that it was hard to believe that the shallow, unattractive, silted pond was the same body of water as the beautiful trout stream downriver. His reply was, “It will all be beautiful soon.” I’m sure he’s right about that.

The locals and state officials are hopeful that the positive impacts on wild trout will make it an even better fishery, which is great to hear. And for all of us anglers across the country, we can take heart that another iconic American river has been restored.

This is a guest post from Richard Leo from the Coalition for Susitna Dam Alternatives

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The biggest dam in America since Glen Canyon. The eighth tallest in the world when fully built. On a great wild river of dense salmon runs in the Mt. McKinley heart of Alaska. Right next to a major active earthquake fault, too.

Yup, it’s as alarming as it sounds. But the State of Alaska has already appropriated the initial funding to dam the Susitna River because Alaska needs the electricity.

Except… Alaska Doesn’t

Natural gas now powers most of the region the Susitna Dam would serve. There’s enough natural gas in those fields for at least a hundred more years. Alaska holds 90% of America’s potential for tidal power with generator tests happening now. Geothermal development is already in progress because Alaska’s geothermal potential rivals Iceland’s. Alaska’s first two wind farms that will be ready next year have the capacity for a quarter of the Susitna Dam’s output.

The Susitna Dam would produce 280-300 megawatts (Mw). The Grand Coulee on Washington’s Columbia River produces 3,000. A basic energy efficiency program for the same population base as the Susitna Dam’s electricity could save 200-300 Mw.

The free-flowing Susitna River descends from the glaciers of North America’s highest mountains. A $5-10 billion dollar wall of concrete simply doesn’t belong in the center of Alaska’s iconic wilderness landscape, where visitors from around the world come to experience natural grandeur.

Choking this wild river with a massive and unnecessary dam is an assault on our nation’s natural heritage.

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Learn more about the Susitna River and the effort to stop the dam at SusitnaDamAlternatives.org

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Updated October 6, 2011

We had such a response on this post that we wanted to update this post to address the comments that came in. Hope these help clear up some confusion:

Geothermal is not viable in the Matsu area and it never will be. it might be in “development” in the state somewhere but I can assure you it is many many miles from this market and any development is small scale and tens of years away.

The Alaska Energy Authority, the agency responsible for building the Susitna Dam, has helped fund a large geothermal development on Mt. Spurr. The project would serve the same area as the Susitna Dam (in face, Mt. Spurr is within sight of the Susitna River, directly across Cook Inlet from Anchorage). That project is expected to be online in ten years (the Susitna Dam’s earliest completion would be 12 years) with a potential for 100 MW. See report.

Wind power is not a consistent source of power and also needs tens of years of development before any production starts.

The first two large Alaska wind farms are scheduled to begin generating electricity by the fall of 2012.

The natural gas reserves are not going to last long and are not going to fuel any expansion of the existing market.

Alaska holds enough natural gas reserves for many many hundreds of years. There are currently three major natural gas projects actively being considered: 1) by large-diameter pipeline from the enormous reserves on the North Slope through Canada to the Lower 48 with branches into the area the Susitna Dam would serve; 2) a smaller-diameter pipeline from the North Slope directly to the area the dam would serve; 3) expanding the existing fields in Cook Inlet where a June, 2011 survey by the USGS showed that Cook Inlet reserves are not 1 but 20 trillion cubic feet. 75% of the area that dam would power now receives its electricity from Cook Inlet natural gas fields. Yes, existing Cook Inlet wells are beginning to run out, but not the field.

The proposed dam would be 700′ (213 meters) tall. This would make it the 30th tallest dam on earth. Not the eighth. 

According to the Alaska Energy Authority, one of the design options currently being considered for the dam on the Susitna would allow it to be “expandable” to 885 feet in height, or 269.7 meters (see p. 10 of PDF). This would make it the 5th tallest dam on earth and the tallest dam in the United States. The relatively small amount of electricity the Susitna Dam would produce would indicate that the developing the dam to its full height may be necessary to achieve the greatest amount of power for the cost.

There are “dense” salmon runs on the Susitna River. However, the proposed dam will be on a tributary of the river. Only 17% of the river flow is impacted by the dam. The dam site will be 15 miles upstream of Devils Canyon, The turbulent waters of the Devil’s Canyon rapids downstream of the dam site provide a natural barrier to upstream migration of salmon. 

The dam will not be on a tributary, but on the Susitna River itself. And a dam’s impacts on fisheries are not limited to the blocking of spawning grounds. According to studies done by the State of Alaska, the natural mineral toxicity of the Susitna River is sufficiently high to be at a threshold for salmon viability. Blasting apart the rock from which those elemental magnesium, aluminum, iron, and other salmon toxins come could impact salmon runs all the way to the mouth of the river. Additionally, according to the State’s own studies, the water temperature of the Susitna River is at the upper limits for salmon. The dam will discharge warmer water than occurs naturally, causing further harm to the sustainability of these commercially valuable fish.

Finally, at least two species of salmon, king and sockeye, are known to spawn far above Devil’s Canyon, a tribute to the marvel of the wild salmon. State fisheries biologists, in their off-time, anecdotally report sightings of hundreds of sockeye in the Susitna drainage waters above Devil’s Canyon.

The Susitna dam project would be a 600 MW project – not a 200 to 300 MW.

The “installed capacity” of the Susitna dam would be 600 MW. But “installed capacity” is a very misleading number, and it isn’t the same thing as actual generation. Instead it’s the maximum generation that’s possible when the dam is running full throttle, a bit like 120mph on my car’s speedometer. Most dams generate much less than their installed capacity in actual use. According to The Alaska Energy Authority, the dam’s average annual output would be 2,600 GW hours, or 296.8 average MW, a little less than half of its installed capacity. By way of comparison, the Grand Coulee Dam’s average annual output [PDF] is 22,600 GW hours, or 2,580 average MW.

The 1900 acre easement protects a significant section of the Wateree River near the Congaree National Park as well as 800 upland acres from development. The Congaree Land Trust’s COWASEE Basin Initiative prioritizes private land protection along the Congaree, Wateree, and Santee Rivers. The COWASEE Basin initiative was started five years ago with the goal of protecting 215,000 acres adjacent to the three rivers. To date, nearly a third of 215,000 acres is protected from development. To read more about their recent conservation easement check out the great article in The State.

Next time you are paddling the Congaree or Wateree River Blue Trails it will be nice to know that people are working hard to protect the wild nature of these rivers for generations to come.

On February 23, the Kershaw County Council voted unanimously to pass a new package of zoning and land development regulations. An ordinance is included in the package that will protect all rivers and streams by requiring a 100-foot strip of trees and plants along the riverbank to limit the amount of polluted runoff that flows into the county’s waters.

American Rivers has worked closely with planners and others in the county to develop the Wateree River Blue Trail, the water equivalent of a hiking trail, in an effort to reconnect communities to the recreational, economic, and cultural values of the Wateree River and to protect the river’s clean water. The county’s new river safeguards are an important part of the effort to ensure the Wateree remains one of the area’s most valuable assets.

Matt Rice, associate director for conservation in the Southeast office of American Rivers, made the following statement:

“We applaud Kershaw County for recognizing that healthy rivers mean a healthy community. The council understands that protecting rivers and clean water now will save taxpayer costs for water treatment in the future.”

“Protecting natural areas along county rivers and streams is a cost-effective way to safeguard clean water and wildlife, and ensure that Kershaw County remains an outstanding destination for families, paddlers, and anglers.”

“Kershaw County’s safeguards are a model for other counties in South Carolina and nationwide. Other communities looking to promote clean water and public health, and save taxpayer dollars at the same time, would be wise to follow Kershaw County’s lead.”