American Whitewater is proud to announce the two Affiliate Club recipients of the 2010 Clif Bar Flowing Rivers Campaign: The Greater Baltimore Canoe Club and the University of Idaho Recreational Student Organization! Each club will receive a $1,250 grant to go towards their respective projects.
Greater Baltimore Canoe Club
The GBCC’s grant is for the rehabilitation of a 1,200 foot access trail at the takeout of the Lower Gunpowder Falls River. This trail is currently in a state of disrepair and is beginning to erode. Unfortunately, its continued use by hikers, equestrians, tubers, trout fishermen and paddlers alike is beginning to negatively affect the surrounding environment. This project aims to remove fallen timber from the walkways (to be reused to improve the trail), dismantle and remove an abandoned footbridge, relocate the trail per park recommendations, properly surface the new trail and equip it with water bars as necessary to promote proper drainage. This project will reduce run-off from an eroding trail, will reduce off-trail traipsing across the fragile flood plain and maintain a cooperative working relationship with the local State Park authorities.
University of Idaho Recreational Student Organization
This project endeavors to create and place informational panels near the free to the public Kelly’s Whitewater Park on the North Fork of the Payette River. These educational panels will cover topics such as Payette River habitat and ecology, whitewater river etiquette, and river feature explanations. These panels will be designed and created by students nearby at the University of Idaho. This project will provide an educational opportunity for students to learn about river safety, conservation and whitewater parks, and also help educate non-boaters alike about whitewater rivers.
This year saw some great applications for these grants. We were sad we could only choose two but heartened to see so many folks wanting to do their part saving rivers. Some other applications included:
Atlanta Whitewater Club: For cleanups on 4 different rivers near Atlanta, GA throughout the year
Bluegrass Wildwater Association: For purchasing duckies to be used on river cleanups by club members on several rivers
Colorado Whitewater: To help fund PURE (Protect our Urban River Environment) that does work on the South Platte River in CO
East Tennessee Whitewater Club: To help fund Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning (TCWP) for purchasing private land as it becomes available in the Obed Wild and Scenic River (OWSR) National Park
Tennessee Scenic Rivers Association: For purchasing adaptive paddling training for TSRA instructors so TSRA can offer adaptive paddling instruction in the future
Thanks again to all the club’s who participated in this year’s grant process. Most of all, a huge thanks goes out to Clif Bar for sponsoring this wonderful opportunity for our Affiliate Club’s to do their part in saving rivers! Check out Clif Bar’s "Who we are" part of their website to see how this endeavor plus many others makes them a true river and environmental steward.