Dam removal

Rumor has it that the T'ville dam removal starts tomorrow.
I'm excited to see what rapids lie beneath the pond.

Tshirts and Art

It's all or nothing.
If the goal is not reached, the project does not get finished!
A "pledge" means that you are not charged for this right now.  It will only happen when the goal is reached at the end of the month.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1064313302/grand-canyon-gravure?ref=card

$25 or more and you get an ARTandWATER cotton tshirt.
(Stickers too?  Sure, why not.  Everyone likes stickers)

When the project is funded, you will receive a private message so we can discuss tshirt size, design, and color.




http://youtu.be/GSiUtzT5Kz4

Grand Canyon Gravure project

http://kck.st/LwzeJr
The goal is to collect the materials to get this project finished.
It is at it's half way point and I want to keep the momentum going!
Thanks to people who have let me borrow equipment this summer,
allowed me to find work space,
and encouraged me to keep going I think that the finish line is in sight.

Watch the video.

Click the links.

Share share share to anyone who might be interested!

(there are some really good deals for those who choose to be a part of finishing this project)

Maine boaters just get it

http://www.maineriverlife.com/video/2nd-annual-huck-fest/ The entire lifestyle and fun attitude.

Remains Of A River (trailer)

Remains of a River Trailer from NRS Films on Vimeo.

This film is being shown in episodes on Vimeo. It is about a journey on the Colorado River from source to sea. Well, ALMOST to the sea, since the Colorado River does not reach the sea as the demands for water are high enough that it dries up before it can get to the sea.

Hawaii bans plastic bags

according to this article from  Surfrider Foundation
http://www.surfrider.org/coastal-blog/entry/hawaii-becomes-the-first-state-in-the-u.s.-to-ban-plastic-bags

 Plastics degrade at an incredibly slow rate in landfills, but even slower in the ocean so the accumulation is greater.  Here is a conservative explanation by NOAA.
http://marinedebris.noaa.gov/info/plastic.html

A big topic of conversation these days is the "garbage patch" in the mid-Pacific gyre.
Again, here is a link to NOAA for a less reactionary explanation. 
http://marinedebris.noaa.gov/info/patch.html
NOAA is a government organization staffed by scientists, thus tend to not make hyperbolic statements.

Whether you think that giant piles of plastic garbage are rapidly killing off marine life, which in turn is having a negative impact on the food chain to which we are directly linked, or if you think that a little garbage is floating in the ocean, doesn't it make sense to pay attention to how many plastic bags you are using?

I am constantly amazed that the default mode for cashiers is to put everything in a bag.  If I carry two small items from the shelf to the cash register, then why do they need to go in a bag?  It's a waste. 

Jamie McEwan: An Accidental Olympian

http://youtu.be/Dv9DUvGVYuQ

Westbrook River Park

http://184.154.226.19/~westbro7/

Southern Maine project in which the idea is to do more than put in a boring old fish ladder.


The fish ladder is great as it will allow upstream fish passage.  But, with the growing popularity of whitewater boating over the past couple of generations, several boaters have taken their love for playing with fast-moving water to school, earned engineering degrees, and become whitewater park designers.   These whitewater parks create structures which more closely mimic a natural river than the old-style fish ladders.  These improved fish ladder / whitewater parks have become very attractive to towns interested in renewing interest in forgotten river corridors, often resulting in great quality of life improvements for that town.

Whitewater park designers carefully consider the positive impact such restoration projects have on fish habitat.
http://www.boaterparks.com/Web%20fish%20report.pdf

Here is an example of Recreational Engineering and Planning's proposal in Michigan.
http://www.a2gov.org/government/publicservices/systems_planning/Environment/hrimp/Documents/AnnArbor_final_conceptdesign.pdf

A project in CA is gaining ground because of the balanced plan that addresses the concerns of boaters, fishermen, environmentalists, and the general population of the town.
http://www.kernvilleriversidepark.com/PlanStreambed.htm

The Tulsa whitewater park project
http://tulsawhitewaterpark.com/faq/

http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Wiki/stewardship:whitewater_parks

Vote for this image and be awesome

This is the link to the contest.  Enjoy the images.  Vote for mine if you find yourself compelled to help.
http://www.photocircle.org/contests/6/


All proceeds of this contest go to benefit The Freshwater Trust.

Colorado River a major economic attraction

"Among the study’s key findings, river-related recreation in the six-state region:

• Supports 234,000 jobs across Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming
• Produces $26 billion in economic output
• Generates $17.0 billion in retail sales
• Out performs regional farming revenues by 14.6% on average
• Contributes $3.2 billion in federal, state, and local tax revenue annually
• Provides enough state and local tax revenues to fund over 29,000 teacher positions
• Creates $10.4 billion in annual earnings, salaries, and wages" 

source:
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Article/view/articleid/31374/

Navigation, not just for fish

This is an effort to raise awareness of a simple concept:
If a fish ladder must be installed
Then why not one that acts more like a natural river?
It looks better.
It creates recreational opportunities in the local community.
It is safer.
Whitewater park engineers are the ones who know how to do this.

http://www.pressherald.com/news/a-passageway-for-fish-why-not-for-kayakers__2012-05-01.html

Repost the above link to your Facebook, Google+, or any forums in which you participate.  Local people are trying to make the plans for an ugly concrete fish ladder into something more sensible.  This will benefit ww boaters.  This will benefit fish.  This will benefit the local community far beyond boaters and fishermen.

Here is a link to a study re: fish stream habitat and ww parks.  You'll see the careful attention that ww park engineers give fish habitat,  and how much better ww features are vs. typical concrete steps.
http://www.boaterparks.com/Web%20fish%20report.pdf

2012 N.E.W. Triple Crown Championships

("Tville Triple Crown")



This is an unedited batch of photos. I rushed to post them online for those who were anxious to see images from the weekend. I will color correct and crop over the next few weeks. When finished, I'll replace the photos in this gallery with their corrected images.

Full results are up on the event's website
http://www.tvilletriplecrown.com/tvilletriplecrown.com/Results_2012.html

Saturday morning started a little chilly, but the competitors warmed up with 5 minute races in wildwater boats. By the time second runs of slalom came around the sun had warmed up the Tville Gorge, and the rest of the weekend saw perfect mid-Spring weather for boating. Several spectators commented that the new parking shuttle setup made getting to the event much easier than the past three years.

If the slideshow is not working for your javascript settings, you can use this link to go directly to the gallery and see individual photos. http://artandwater.smugmug.com/Whitewater/2012-New-England-Whitewater/

Team USA needs some support

http://www2.teamusa.org/Home/USA%20Canoe%20Kayak/Case%20for%20Support.aspx

because our beautiful little ww sport does not have the same corporate support that other summer Olympic sports have. It is nice to be one of the last genuinely amateur sports out there, but the price that is paid for being so cool is lack of money. Pass the above link along to friends and family who know about your ww adventures and tell them that this is in the OLYMPICS this summer and that Team USA needs support; be it $5 or $500,000.

N.E.W. Triple Crown Championships

http://www.tvilletriplecrown.com

This is the fourth year that freestyle, slalom, and wildwater boaters have competed against each other in all three disciplines for an overall prize of $1000 in both women's and men's divisions.

Sign up to compete, or go to the T'ville Gorge on the Farmington River in central Connecticut to watch the show!!!

Making a Two-Part breakapart paddle

Here is a link to a terrific article on making your own breakdown paddle out of an old paddle.

http://wheelsandwater.blogspot.com/2011/06/making-breakdown-paddle.html

NPR story on Olympic hopeful slalom boater

Devin McEwan

titled, "Kayaker Hopes To Follow In Dad's Olympic Shoes"

http://www.npr.org/2012/03/01/147752416/whitewater-kayaker-hopes-to-follow-in-dads-olympic-shoes

WW Boater going to Belize to be more than just a tourist

Bryan Griesemer will join a team of health care professionals to help improve the quality of life in rural Belize.

Click this first link and read his plan. It's a good one.

http://sundogphilosophy.blogspot.com/2011/12/lets-join-forces-to-help-community-in.html?spref=fb

This next link is for those who are willing to support Bryan's efforts by donating to MedicForce (a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization, thus tax deductable). When you do decide to donate please be sure to include the name Bryan Griesemer in the memo section, so they know to let him know that his friends are helping (I believe the amount you donate is kept private, but letting Bryan know that you are helping only encourages him to continue doing good things like this in the future)

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/jonathon-bryant/medicforcebelize4

London 2012

http://www.london2012.com/canoe-slalom

Olympic Whitewater Slalom

Condit Dam explosion

boater & film maker trying to get the project off the ground

he's close to the fundraising goal on kickstarter, so chip in and help Jack reach the goal so he can complete this project.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1054213271/wild-home?ref=video