supporttheprotectionoftherivers—similartothe1%fortheplanetprogram.Individuals
ornon-kayakingcompaniescanalsodonate,andFRFhasa growingnumberofprivate
supporters,includingkayakclubs.“FRFisquitestable,and the core companies that are
donatinghavebeenwithusfromthestart,”shesays.“Riversarereallyimportanttome.WhenI’mupset,riverscalmmedown.WhenI’mpissed
offorsad,I gotoa river.MaybebecauseI’vebeensoclosetoriverssinceI wasa child.”
Thisis a sentimentmanykayakerscanrelateto.Spendingtimeonthemostremoteand
wildriversoftheworld,paddlers know the value of a river is measured in much more that
kilowattsordollarbills.“I havesomuchrespectfora river.A riverreallyhasa soul,”saysVogt.“WhenI’mkayaking
ontheriver,it’sjustsocalming.”Whethersheis instructing,wrappingupa FRFmeeting,or
bouncingtothebottomofSoca’sKatarakt,Vogtalwayshasa big,bigsmile.Sheis a true
friendoftheriver,is continuallysharingpositiveenergy,and through her tireless work with
FRF,is givingeverypaddlerthechancetogiveback.Read more about Vogt and Free River Funds on NRS’s Duct Tape Diaries.Kayakersrocketintotheeddy,allsmilesandlaughsafteranautumnlapdowntheMoška
sectionof Slovenia’sSocaRiver.Onekayakdriftspastthislast-chance-eddy,floatingbackward
towardtheopeningrapidsof Katarakt,a gradeV sectionknownto kayakersworldwide.A smile
peeksoutfromunderthehelmetofMariekeVogt,thelonekayakercommittingtotherun.
‘‘Comeonguys,’’sheshoutstowardtheeddy,wherepaddlersarealreadyoutof theirkayaks.
Throughhergrin,sheyells,‘‘Aren’tyoucoming?’’beforepivoting downstream, oblivious to
theflurryofactivityasherfriendshopin tocatchup.WatchingVogtpaddle,herconnectionwithriversis clear. She appears to be friends with the
river.Perhapsthisfriendshipis whatmakes
hersucha skilledkayakinstructor,dedicated
riversteward, and an extraordinarily capable
kayaker.Vogt’sfirstmemoryof kayakingdoesnotfore-
tellherfuturepaddlingenthusiasm.“I wastwo
yearsoldwhenmyparentscuta holein anold
fiberglasskayak,putmein a PFDandstuffed
meintotheirboat,’’shesays.‘‘I’veseenpic-
tures,andmostofthetimeI wassleeping,
hangingtherein myPFD.’’Thosedaysonthe
LeineRiverin north-centralGermanywerethe
foundationfora lifetimespentonrivers.Vogtwaspartof a flatwaterkayakingclubbut
wasdiscouragedbythelong,heavypaddles,
cumbersomeboats,andadults whowere
“alwaysin a rush.”‘‘I almoststoppedkayaking.
ThenI turned 18 andmetpeoplewhowere
intowhitewater,”shelaughs.“Wegotourown
boats,stoleourparents’carsandwentto Soca
forourfirstindependentkayaktrip.”Thesearehumblerootsfora paddlerwhohas
a stylesosmoothshe’softenmistakenforan
ex-slalomkayaker.Vogtherselfis quiteunassuming;a slight,quietandmodest33-yearold
wholistensmorethanshetalksandhasmasteredthebalanceofbrainsandbrawnwhen
paddling.Herconfidentpaddleplacementspeaksforthehoursshehasspentin a creek boat,
andhernear-permanentgrindepictshowmuchsheenjoysthetimethere.It wasn’tuntilshemovedto InnsbruckforUniversityandstartedworkingasa whitewaterkayak
instructorthatherpaddlingprogressionreallygrew.“Beforethat,I knewhowtogetmyself
outoftroubleandroll,buttheboofingandmagicI learnedwhenI was27,aftermovingto
Innsbrucktodoa Mastersin AtmosphericScience.”VogtstillcallsInnsbruckhome,andthe
Ruetzherhomerun.“WhenI finishedmystudies,I hadthechoiceto saywiththekayakschool
orstarta sciencecareer.I realizedI reallylikebeingonthewater,beingoutside,beingwith
people,beingaroundthefire.I wantedto keepdoingthat.”Today,she averages around 150
daysa yearonthewater,makinga livingasa kayakinstructor.In betweentraveling,paddling,andinstructing,Vogtgivesbackto theriversshecallsfriends
bymanagingFreeRiversFund(FRF).“FreeRiversFundis anorganizationthatre-distributes
fundsforriverconservation,”shesays.“Wecollectmoneyfromthosewhohavethe money
but not the time, and give it to those who have the time but not the money.”FromBosniatoBolivia,UgandatoNorthCarolina,activistsareraisingtheir
voicesandfightingfortheriversthatrunthroughusall.RiverWarriors,a column
presentedbyNRS,aimsto profile individuals fighting for healthy, free-flowing
rivers around the world.RIVER WARRIORS
MARIEKE VOGT & FREE RIVERS FUND
Thisisn’tVogt’sfirstriverconservationeffort.“BeforeFRFI wasworkingwithBernie(Steidl)
tofightthehydropowerdamontheRuetzRiverintheStubaiValleyof Austria.Fightingthis
projecttooka lotoftimeandhardwork,andwewerejustthroughtheworstofit when
Bernie,RokRozman,andDanYates came up with the idea for FRF, and I somehow became
thechairoftheorganization.’’FreeRiversFundis foundedbykayakersanddesignedforkayakers.Thepremiseis simple.
Kayakingbrandsdonatemoneyora percentageoftheproceedsfromthesaleofa specific
product. These brands, or partners, use the FRF trademarked logo, telling consumers theyNRSWARRIORSRIVER