Yak…Yak…Yak…

Idaho Rivers United has presented “Stop the Twin Springs Dam” petitions with over 500 signatures to the Idaho Water Resource Board. We will continue to gather signatures and present them to the Board. Please sign the petition today and encourage your friends to sign it too.

Sign our Petition to the Idaho Water Board

KETCHUM, Idaho — Whitewater enthusiasts in central Idaho have proposed building a whitewater park they say will draw tourists and offer waves for kayakers, boogie boarders and surfers.

Check out the entire story on KTVB.COM HERE!

Come for a fun evening of live music, great refreshments, and the Boise premiere of Whitewater Hall of Famer Kent Fords new documentary on the history of whitewater kayaking and canoeing.

Date: Friday, June 12th
Time: 7-9 PM
Location: Muse Building, 1317 W. Jefferson St, Boise ID 83702 (Map)
Admission: $10, benefiting the Alzar School and a scholarship fund for Idaho teens.

There will be door prizes for oldest kayak on your car, oldest kayaking t-shirt, and more. Live music is from Travis and Ali Ward of Hillfolk Noir, a great local Boise band. There will also be a silent auction on some amazing desserts. Proceeds from the event will go to benefit the Alzar School (a local Boise 501c3 nonprofit) and a special scholarship fund for Idaho students.

Movie Description:
The Call of the River: The Twisted History of Whitewater Paddling
The story of whitewater is a collage of unexpected influences. The canoeing roots of the sport were in summer camps, explorer scouts, and clubs. Early exploration of rivers was in elegant wood and canvas boats. Early kayaking participants were often chemists, scientists, and engineers unfazed by the barriers presented by newly evolving resins that it took to build boats.

In the early days you had to be willing to build your own boat, teach someone to paddle so you had a shuttle, mail 30 cents of stamps in exchange for a water level, and attend races to obtain paddles and other gear. A sixpack of beer could persuade a damkeeper for a water release.

Growth of paddling in the US exploded in the 70andrsquo;s, spurred by the movie Deliverance and the Olympic Games, and more recently by indestructible plastic kayaks. Now nearly 16 million participants crave the outdoor sport lifestyle.

Featuring old school canoeing and kayaking footage, and riveting interviews with the early pioneers andldquo;The Call of the Riverandrdquo; provides a behind the scenes look at the ingenuity that made kayaking, from the European emigrants escaping communism to the American entrepreneurs who build the boats of today. We meet many of the wonderfully eclectic personalities involved in the evolution of paddling, and watershed moments of how paddling became one of the premiere outdoor sports of today.

Preview: http://www.performancevideo.com/The_Call_of_the_River

If you live in Idaho, or even if you are just visiting you will now have to pay to paddle.

It definitely looks like Idaho boaters will be paying extra fees before they can launch on Idahoand#39;s waters to prevent the invasion of invasive mussels.

Whether you have a drift boat, touring kayak or motor boat, youand#39;re going to being paying an extra fee in the future.

The mussel sticker bill flew through the Idaho Senate Tuesday with a vote of 34 to 1. The popular bill will require that motorized boats registered in Idaho have a $10 annual sticker. Boats coming into Idaho but registered out of state would have to pay $20. The cost for nonmotorized boats would be $5 annually. Boaters caught on Idaho waterways without the sticker would be subject to a $100 fine.

Check out the full article by Pete Zimowski HERE!

Once again the Idaho legislature is looking for ways to make non-motorized boaters pay to paddle. This time it is disguised as a bill to protect Idaho waters from Zebra Mussels. The problem is this one looks like it will pass the Senate – it passed the House by a wide margin.

Check out more from KayakIdaho HERE

Also Pete Zimowski’s article HERE

The Owyhee wilderness bill will protect 517,000 acres of wilderness and 315 miles of Wild and Scenic Rivers in the Owyhee Canyonlands.

Check out Zimoand#39;s full Idaho Statesman article HERE.

To have a voice in planning for these Idaho National Forests, apply for advisor and alternate positions. The application period ends Jan. 20 2009.

For more info check out Zimoand#39;s Idaho Statesman article HERE – or contact Andy Brunelle at the Forest Service, (208) 334-1770, or Kimberly Brandel, (208) 347-0301

In less than two weeks, the political dynamics of the Columbia and Snake River salmon debate changed dramatically.

Check out the entire Idaho Statesman article HERE!

Water rights are major hurdle for Wild and Scenic Rivers

Congress is steering a bill through the final rapids that would add 315 miles of Idaho rivers to the Wild and Scenic Rivers system that Idaho Sen. Frank Church helped create 40 years ago this month.

See the full Idaho Statesman article HERE!

The last time the Snake Rivers SF peaked over 10,000 CFS on Sept. 1st was 1966

Check out the Idaho Statesman article HERE!