Transcript

Dirty FreeHub

Today on The Connection, I have Corita Waters, Wild and Scenic Rivers partnership lead, and Susan Rosebrough, team lead of the Hydropower Assistance Program, both of which are from the National Park Service, where they have spent many years advocating for our parks.

So starting off with the first question, what is a wild and scenic river? What makes it unique, and what makes up a wild and scenic river in general?

National Park Service – Corita K. Waters

Thanks for asking. Our wild and scenic rivers are special rivers. The, a wild and scenic river is essentially a river or a river segment with special, unique values that we actually have the responsibility to keep that river free-flowing naturally. So [00:01:00] these are rivers without large dams or major channel modifications.

one thing I really love is we manage these rivers for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations. So all designated wild and scenic rivers are protected under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, which was passed in 1968, and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act for designated rivers, they have to meet two criteria.

The first is that a river has to be free-flowing, so flowing naturally, and second, it has to have at least one outstandingly remarkable value, and we call those ORVs

Dirty Freehub

Is a wild and scenic river, is that just in Oregon or are wild and scenic rivers found in specific places?

National Park Service – Susan Rosebrough

That’s a really good question. Yeah, wild and scenic rivers are found across the country, and they can flow through all kinds of lands, mostly public lands at the federal, state, or local level, but they can also even be on private lands. And they don’t have to be a specific region or a [00:02:00] specific state like Oregon, but they can be any kinds of landscapes.

The most important thing is what Carita was just sharing regarding those two criteria, that it’s gotta be free-flowing and have at least one outstandingly remarkable value. In some states, particularly Oregon, have a lot of wild and scenic rivers. In fact, Oregon has the most federally designated rivers with 69 designations and over 2,000 river miles.
So there’s a lot of river miles for you and your listeners to explore. but not every state has them. Right now, we have 41 states and Puerto Rico that have designated rivers in them.

Dirty Freehub

This might be kind of a one-off question, but do you have an example of a wild and scenic river in Oregon?

National Park Service – Susan Rosebrough

One example is the Rogue River. One of them that I really enjoy is the Rogue River in Southern Oregon, and that has federal lands as well as some local public lands as well, and there’s a lot of different segments there too. So, there’s great places to explore there in Oregon, and you [00:03:00] can go paddling, fishing, walking along the river.

Dirty Freehub

Yeah, that one’s such a beautiful river. What can we do as a general public to be good stewards of these rivers?

National Park Service – Corita K. Waters

Yeah, there are lots of ways to be a good steward. the good thing about it is you don’t have to have special training or a special boat or any special skills really. I think the first best way to… is to get to know what’s in your backyard. So you asked about, you know, a river in Oregon. I encourage folks to check out if you live near a Wild & Scenic River and you don’t even realize it.

There might be one in your backyard. I also encourage folks to learn their river’s values. So every Wild & Scenic River, as I said earlier, is protected for some specific reason. Maybe it’s the scenery or the wildlife, the fisheries, culture, geology. So you can look up rivers, see what makes it unique, and, and learn about how you can protect those.

And then just from a personal level, when you’re out on a river, thinking about how you can protect your, the river while you’re out there. Can you pick up trash or take your own trash out with you? How can you be gentle around riverbanks? They’re more fragile than they look. Making sure that if you’re paddling or fishing, you’re using good access, cleaning your gear afterward thinking about stopping the spread of invasives or other things that impact that river. we also talk about recreating responsibly. I’m a big boater, and just to follow river safety protocols and make sure you’re wearing a personal flotation device when you’re out and near the river. But also recreate responsibly means, minimizing your environmental impact and respecting private property.
All those things come together on how you can be a good steward.

Dirty Freehub

Yeah, those are all such great reminders, and it’s so true too. I, I love looking at maps, and there’s– it’s amazing to see what is just outside your backyard as well.

National Park Service – Corita K. Waters

right. We all have a– I’d love to hear people’s river stories and have them share a river story, like how have you connected with the water? Sometimes it’s just, looking out at the river but that’s why the river matters to you is really important in how we build new stewards.

Dirty Freehub

Yeah, that’s a big thing at Dirty Free Hub too, is like how can we, connect where we’re riding to, on a personal level, it can make a difference. What are some of the positive outcomes of having wild and scenic rivers?

National Park Service – Susan Rosebrough

Yeah. Thanks. There’s a lot of positive outcomes that wild and scenic rivers offer. Ranges from clean water to recreation that Corita was just sharing about, getting out there cultural and historic preservation, and also just building communities. Rivers are natural connectors. If we’re starting with the clean water, we all need clean water, and many wild and scenic rivers are also drinking water sources for their nearby communities, as well as providing for, fish and wildlife that live nearby the river.

And then, recreation. I mean, there’s so many different ways to explore. Just being by the water, being in nature offers so many benefits for us. Whatever activity you like to do, if you like to go bike riding, walking, paddling, fishing, whatever you wanna do, there’s just so many different ways to experience a river and enjoy that.

I think because people have gravitated towards rivers over time, you also have cultural and historic preservations. I mean, people have been living by rivers, fishing, hunting just navigating, using them as navigation ways over time. And so th- because of that, there’s so many stories that the rivers offer.

Not your own story, like as Corita was saying, we all have our stories today, but also the historic stories, the tribal stories. And by protecting them, there’s a way to, keep telling those stories, keep protecting those resources that are there over time for future generations. rivers are just natural connectors.
You know, they flow through different communities, and just by the nature of them and they can bring people together, whether that’s bringing people together through a stewardship activity or just being out there with your friends and family. There’s just a way to connect there. And through the management, communities can help provide their information and local knowledge that can, ensure that the rivers are protected and build on that local community input.

Dirty Freehub

Yeah, I love that it’s like a physical connection, but it’s also such an analogy for all these other connections too. At times there might be opposition to designating a wild and scenic river. Why is there typically concern around that?

National Park Service – Corita K. Waters

Yeah, it’s a good question. And understandably, you know, when people hear about a new designation or that a river is getting a new level of protection, they wanna know what that means. And so one important aspect of when we’re thinking about studying and designating a river we actually determine the river’s suitability.

So what does the community feel about it? What do the river users feel about it? And is designation actually the best method for protection, or are there other better uses for rivers? So for our wild and scenic rivers, they’ve been found suitable and where protection is really that, that is important.

And for opposition, often we have heard concerns about designation being a constraint on future infrastructure or water development because wild and scenic river status does prevent new hydropower projects and major diversions, which might feel like a loss of flexibility for some communities.

But really the act recognizes that the best use for certain rivers is protection, and that’s what is important about these wild and scenic rivers. we also get questions about land ownership, and we have a river study, and we have what’s called the enabling legislation, so Congress’s language about a river, and then management planning.

So the community, the river managers get together and have a planning process to consider how best to protect river values while also recognizing private property rights. So often for most of our designated rivers, there’s an encouragement and a need to have the engagement of the local community and local government entities are often putting protections in place, protecting the river values.

It’s something that the communities come together to encourage. And then sometimes we hear that the rivers are off limits, quote unquote. There might be concerns from a community that, you know, having a designation means that the river is off limits. But lots of the uses still exist, like fishing or boating or hunting or grazing or paddling might exist on a designated wild and scenic river as long as it’s not impacting those unique special values.

And sometimes even, rivers are designated because of those values and those activities. So that’s what we kinda hear most commonly

Dirty Freehub

No, I appreciate you addressing those. Makes sense. Thank you so much. Is there anything else either of you’d like to add?

National Park Service – Susan Rosebrough

we really appreciate you having us on the podcast today. We enjoy talking with you and having a chance to share about wild and scenic rivers. I think a lot of the stewardship starts by learning about it and sharing about it. So we just appreciate you and your listeners’ interest in learning about the wild and scenic rivers near you.
And being in Oregon, you have a lot of rivers to explore. So we just encourage everyone to get outside and enjoy the rivers near them, and [00:10:00] do what you can to protect and enjoy them. And with those efforts, they’ll be protected for future generations as well.

Dirty Freehub

Absolutely. Yeah. Thank you so much.