KayakSessionis proudtocollaboratewithAmericanWhitewater,a non-profitriverconservationorganization.Ourmissionis to
showkayakingat itsbestwithamazingpicturesof paddlingonbeautifulrivers.Withoutthehardworkanddedicationof AW,we
wouldhavea difficulttimeportrayingtheseincrediblerivers,andit wouldprobablybecomeevenmoredifficultin theyearsto come.
Wewouldliketo acknowledgethisworkandAWhasagreedto keepusupdatedonsomeof theprojectstheyareinvolvedin.
For more information on these and other issues that American Whitewater is working on, go to http://www.americanwhitewater.orgIT TAKES DEDICATION AND GRIT, IT TAKES
A CHAMPION, IT TAKES US ALL by Evan Stafford
Epicplaceslikethecanyonscarvingandslicing
theirwaybetweentheAbsarokaandBeartooth
MountainsontheborderofMontanaandWyo-
ming,a landaffectionatelyknownasMontucky,are
epicfora reason.Theyareremote,inaccessible,
andeverythingoutthereseemslargerthanordi-
narylife.Cascadescrashthroughthousand-foot,
sheercanyongatesblastingmistyrainbowsinto
theskywithnoonetolayeyesonthemformiles.
Andsoit wasthatveryfewknewoftheincredible
landscapesthreatenedbya proposeddam on the
ClarksForkRiverin theearly1980s.Fortunately,kayakerswerecuriousaboutwhatlay
hiddendeepin thoseforebodingcanyons,andthey
broughttheircameras.Armedwithawe-inducing
imagesofpaddlinginsidetheBox,a champion
emerged.TheForestServicenominatedtheClarks
ForkforWildandScenicdesignation,whichwould
stoptheproposeddam,butWyoming’sStatese-
natorsatthetimemadeit clearthatbeforethey
wouldletthelegislationpass,theentirestateof
Wyomingwouldhavetosupporttheeffort.Lamar
Empeyspentyearsconvincingmultiplechambers
ofcommerce,countycommissioners,theGover-
nor,andvariousnewspapersto endorsetheriver’s
nominationasa WildandScenicRiver.A WWII
veterananda decoratedprofessorofresearchin
mentalhealthandyouthdevelopment,EmpeyservedintheKennedyAdministrationand
workedonmultipleconservationeffortsin northernWyoming,buthespokeoftheWildand
Scenicdesignationthatfinallyhappened for the Clarks Fork River in 1991 as one of the
proudestmomentsofhislife.Duringtheheightofpost-WWIIdambuildingeffortsintheAmericanWest,manyriverswe
nowtakeforgrantedasthemostclassicmulti-daywesternrivertripswerelargelyunknownto
thebroadercommunity,notunliketheClarksForkin the1980s.Aspartof theupperColorado
BasinStorageProject,theGreenRiver’sGatesof LodoreandtheYampaRiver’sYampaCanyon
wereidentifiedto bedrownedwitha singledamshortlybelowtheirconfluencein EchoPark.
TheconservationcommunitywasadamantlyagainstthisproposedprojectinsideDinosaur
NationalMonument,buttheywerehavinga hellof a time finding traction for protecting a
placethatfewcitizensknewanythingabout.Mostofthecountrywhohadheardoftheremotepreserveonlyassociatedit withfossils,
andthedinosaurbonesinsidetheMonumentwerenotatrisk.Manydidnotunderstand
thatthecanyonlandscapealongsidethoseancientskeletonsalsoneededprotection.David
Brower,executivedirectoroftheSierraClub,wasintimatelyfamiliarwiththetruegrandeur
ofthedramaticriverlandscapeandbecamethechampionofa multi-prongedstrategyto
protect them. He made two films, found a way to screen them in the halls of the U.S. Congress,andarrangedrafttripsthroughtheMonumentdemonstratingtheunbelievablerecreation
opportunitytheseriverswereprovidingandprovingthatrunningthemwassafe.Healso
persuadedWallaceStegner,JohnWesleyPowell’sbiographer,to edita bookofessays,This
Is Dinosaur, andhelpedlandcoverageinmajornationalpublicationsofwhatat the time
wasa remoteandlittle-knowncomponentoftheU.S.NationalParksystem.Hismostimportantcontribution,however,camein theformofdoublecheckingtheBureau
ofReclamation’scalculations,a skillsethewasnottrainedin.TheBureauassertedthatthe
narrowwallsof theGreen’sWhirlpoolCanyon,wherethedamwasproposed,wouldminimize
evaporation,butduringa Congressionalhearing,Browerchallengedtheengineer’smath,
pointingouttheyhadneglectedtosubtracta keyfigurein theircalculations.Notlongafter,
theBureauwasforcedtoadmittheirerror.It spelleda turningpointfortheremovalofthe
EchoParkDamfromtheColoradoBasinStorageProjectandalsoledtoa provisionstating
thatnodamorreservoircouldbelocatedwithinanynationalparkormonument.Wecan’tprotectwhatwedon’tknow.Whenwelovea place,we’reboundto findthededication
andgritrequiredto protectit. It’sa fundamentalprincipleof riverstewardship,yetplaceswe
don’tknowstillneedprotections.Luckily,riverrunnersmakethebestriverchampions.One
ofuswillstepuptoshareourknowledge of these important places and encourage others
to protect them. Will it be you?WHITEWATERAMERICAN