Northwest Discovery Water Trail News
Washington’s latest water trail is generating headlines and attracting the interest of paddlers wanting to explore the Inland Northwest. Five designation events during the fall of 2005 helped launch the Northwest Discovery Water Trail, providing a sample of the sights and scenery along its three rivers, the Clearwater, Snake, and Columbia. For more news, see the online newsletter.
Bonneville Ribbon Cutting, August 26th, 2005
Bonneville Dam links the Northwest Discovery and Lower Columbia River Water Trails, together offering over 500 miles of river travel. During the Taste of Lewis and Clark festival held at the Dam, visitors and dignitaries, including Washington Congressman Brian Baird and Washington State Parks DirectorRex Derr, boarded the Columbia Gorge Sternwheeler for a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the lock. As the crowded Sternwheeler approached the lock at Bonneville Dam, two volunteers hoisted the ribbon strung from lockwall to lockwall over the jack staff flag pole and onto the deck of the moving boat, where water trail partners and guests cut the ribbon and celebrated the opening and connection of the two water trails.
Mosier Fall Festival, September 3rd, 2005
At Mosier’s Labor Day weekend community picnic, WWTA installed the first Northwest Discovery Water Trail marker on the Columbia River at the newly established Rock Creek launch site. Mosier is a small Oregon town but a big destination for windsurfers and, in the near future, it will be a prime stop on the Northwest Discovery Water Trail, where travelers can restock supplies or simply enjoy the town’s shops and restaurants.
Clearwater Cleanup, September 24th, 2005
The free-flowing, rapid waters of the Clearwater River rush water trail travelers through a deep canyon. For years, agencies and community members have worked to rid the Clearwater of junked cars and abandoned appliances that marred the beauty of the river. WWTA teamed up with the Nez Perce Tribe and eight other partnering businesses and agencies to remove some of the last remnants of riverside junk from the Nez Perce Reservation near Lapwai, Idaho. The project was not your average litter pick up. Volunteers attached large pieces of contorted rusted cars to a boom crane, which then lifted automobile parts from the riverbank and into a container bound for the recycling center.
Heritage Paddle, October 15th, 2005
Indicative of the growing interest in paddle sports in Eastern Washington, the Tri-Cities Heritage Paddle drew 48 people in kayaks, canoes, rowboats, and sailboats. Participants made a 12½-mile journey from Columbia Point Marina to Sacajawea State Park, with stops along the way for designation ceremonies at public access points. Pushed along steadily by a strong tailwind, boaters arrived early at Sacajawea State Park in time to enjoy the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial Heritage Days festivities, an opportunity to learn about traditional living and water travel from the pioneer reenactment camps and authentic Wanapum village.
Trace the Trail, October 16th, 2005
At sunrise, a crowd of 150 gathered in Hat Rock State Park for a ceremony led by members of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Two hundred years ago, Lewis and Clark had given tribal members peace medals; on this day the Confederated Tribes reversed the roles, presenting their own medals to representatives from the Northwest Discovery Water Trail. Twenty-nine boaters launched from the park, paddling past steep basalt rock forms decorated with mud-crafted cliff swallow nests. When the flotilla reached its first stop at McNary Beach, six miles down the Columbia River, white caps and building wind ended the planned lock through of McNary Dam.
Water Trail awarded Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail funding
April 14, 2005. A Challenge Cost Share project, submitted to the National Park Service, was approved for the Northwest Discovery Water Trail Website. Funds will be used to design and maintain an Internet site for the three state three river water trail. The schedule calls for deployment to occur in the fall of 2005. Washington Water Trails Association (WWTA) submitted the application and will coordinate the project.
Tri-Cities Floatilla Tests Locks and Water Safety
April 2, 2005. An exploratory float launched Saturday morning from Levey Boat Ramp on the way to Ice Harbor Dam, housing the largest vertical drop lock in the nation. The Army Corps of Engineers and US Coast Guard Auxiliary assisted in the planned event adding a level of safety during the nearly 13 mile trip. After passing through the lock, the boaters passed by wildlife refuges on the Snake River, taking out at Sagajawea State Park in Pasco, at the confuence with the Columbia River. The shuttle service for the one-way boaters featured the first hybrid taxi in the state of Washington on its first commercial run. More information appears in a Tri-City Herald April 3rd article.
Meetings held in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington
January 12, 2005. The third in a series of meetings with resource managers and the public was held in Kennewick, Washington today. This central location, near the confluence of the Snake and Columbia Rivers, was the third meeting in three months. Each of three meetings was held in one of the states on the Northwest Discovery Water Trail.
These meetings began a more intensive planning phase after Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission received technical assistance from the National Park Service Rivers and Trails Program for 2004/2005. A NWDWT Steering Committee was scheduled for the following day. Check the WWTA calendar for details.
Washington State Parks receives Rivers & Trails technical assistance
October 21, 2004. The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission Statewide Trails Program will receive technical assistance from the National Park Service Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program for 2004/2005. Sue Abbott, RTCA Community Planner, will assist in the planning and development of public outreach, designation, and an interagency water trail management plan. A Novermber 1 Idaho meeting was immediately announced.
Cross State Initiative Fund Campaign Announced
Washington Water Trails announced a major statewide project at a donor event August 8th. The result of the Cross State Initiative will be a water trail system from the Idaho border to the Pacific Ocean shore, crossing the width of Washington State. WWTA also announced a $25,000 fundraising campaign to support planning for the effort. Major WWTA donors boosted funding by pledging to match, dollar for dollar, contributions to the Cross State Initiative. The funds will pay WWTA staff time, an AmeriCorps Water Trail Coordinator position, cross-state travel, and associated planning expenses for this multi-year project. Donate online.
Washington State Parks applies for Rivers & Trails assistance
The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission submitted an application for technical assistance to the National Park Service Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program in June 2004. The request is for help with outreach, designation and drawing up interagency water trail management plan for the 367-mile water trail in Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Washington, with the most miles on the proposed Northwest Discovery Water Trail, volunteered to take the lead in the planning. The Washington Parks Statewide Trails Coordinator is a work member of the Northwest Discovery Water Trail steering committee. Other committee members are the Army Corps of Engineers, Oregon State Parks, US Coast Guard, tribal partners, Columbia River Pilots, businesses, and non-profit organizations like Washington Water Trail Association.
Lower Columbia River Water Trail part of cross state water trail
The Lower Columbia River Water Trail, opened in June, will be the final 146 miles of the cross state system recently announced by Washington Water Trails Association. With the addition of the Northwest Discovery Water Trail, the trails will trace the Northwest water route of the outbound Lewis and Clark Army Corps of Discovery expedition from Canoe Camp on the Clearwater to the Pacific Ocean 200 years ago.
Portland and Walla Walla districts awarded Corps funding
The Army Corps of Engineers Portland and Walla Walla will receive funding to print the Northwest Discovery Water Trail Traveler's Journal & Guide. The Director of Civil Works announced the results of the competitive ACOE Challenge Handshake Partnership Program on July 26, 2004. The joint application by the two District offices was one of ten national winners and the only one from the Pacific Northwest.
And watch for more news in the coming year!