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The Snake River Fund joins the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance and a host of nonprofits and businesses in presenting the Wild and Scenic Film Festival on Thursday, April 12.

Short and feature-length films include “The Fishman,” about a man who swims the Yellowstone River like a fish, and “Kadoma,” a tragic attempt at a kayak first descent in Central Africa. Admission is just $5. There will be a raffle with great prizes. The festival aims to build support for the “Don’t Frack the Hoback!” campaign opposing drilling in the Hoback River headwaters.

Doors open at 6 p.m., and films will show from 7 to 9:30. Presented with American Rivers, Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival, Sierra Club, The Wilderness Society, Wyoming Outdoor Council, Patagonia and Skinny Skis.

Complete list of films:

Brower Youth Awards: Kyle Thiermann
Rikshaw Films, USA, 2011, 4 minutes
Kyle Thiermann isn’t all about surfing, though the sport is a huge part of his life and his inspiration. His five-part video series, called “Surfing for Change,” urges people to make small adjustments in their daily actions to help save the environment. His videos have produced tangible results: Thousands of viewers have transferred $340 million worth of lending power from coal-funding banks to local community banks and have been persuaded to purchase locally and to use less plastic.

Finding Their Way
Chris Jordan-Bloch, USA, 2011, 7 minutes
Jen Slotterback was hiking in her favorite park when she found signs of surveying for industrial gas drilling, or fracking. She went home and told her husband, Jim. Although the two had never been actively involved in the issue of gas drilling, they immediately began a campaign to save the park. The board that controlled trhe park was set to vote on whether to drill there in 11 days. The film follows Slotterbacks’ journey over those 11 days.

The Fishman
Kathy Kasic, USA, 2009, 10 minutes
Mike Kasic swims the Yellowstone River like a human fish, plunging through swift river canyons and past scenic mountain views, watching trout in fast currents filled with frothing water tornadoes, stopping only to body-surf river waves. His message is simple: A river is more than its water; what lies beneath is a wilderness that is often overlooked but critical for the Yellowstone ecosystem to thrive.

Kadoma
Ben Stookesbury, USA, 2011 44 minute
After more than a decade exploring Central Africa, Hendri Coetzee is a modern legend of African guiding. In 2010, Coetzee led American expedition kayaker Ben Stookesberry and his longtime kayaking partner, Chris Korbulic, from the Nile overland through Rwanda. The goal: kayak into the heart of the Congo on a previously unnavigated waterway, the Lukuga River. Seven weeks into the expedition, deep in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, tragedy strikes. “Some of the things that we’re about to witness are so intense and horrible that they should stop the show. But they don’t,” Coetzee says in the film. “People still laugh and dance. Yes, the bad things happen, but so do the good things, the amazing things, and the show goes on.”

A Liter of Light
Nick Santiago, Mike Talampas, Philippines, 2011, 2 minutes
A foundation works to light up a poor neighborhood through the efforts of its local employee, a man who becomes a beacon of hope in his community when he installs hundreds of solar-powered light bulbs in his neighbors’ houses. The clever device is made from old plastic soda bottles filled with water and bleach. Many of the homeowners can barely afford electricity, and because their houses stand so close to each other, scant daylight filters through. With a little bleach, water and good will, their days are now much, much brighter.

New Environmentalists: My Toxic Reality
Will Parrinello, John Antonelli, Tom Dusenbery, USA, 2011, 5 minutes
In Texas, an entrepreneur returns home to his environmentally damaged coastal community to fight an ominous source of major industrial pollution. “The New Environmentalists” share a common goal: safeguarding the Earth’s natural resources from exploitation and pollution while fighting for justice in their communities. This film is the latest in the Emmy Award-winning series, narrated by Robert Redford, featuring inspiring portraits of ordinary people affecting extraordinary change. These are true environmental heroes who have placed themselves squarely in harm’s way to battle intimidating adversaries while building strong grassroots support.

Weed Wars
Rich Addicks, USA, 2010, 6 minutes
One man’s obsession to do his part for the environment using weed-eating goats to control noxious invaders in the Rocky Mountains. A profile on Mark Harbaugh, Patagonia fly fishing rep and goat rancher.

Rebecca and husband Bart on the Rio Pacuare in Costa Rica.

The board of the Snake River Fund has hired longtime Jackson resident and avid kayaker Rebecca Reimers as executive director. Reimers had been serving as interim director since November and prior to that served for a year on the board.

Reimers, 38, earned a bachelor of science in conservation and resource studies from the University of California at Berkeley, with an emphasis in environmental education. She also has a master’s in Oriental medicine and has operated her own acupuncture business since 2004. A river runner and backcountry skier, she used to guide wilderness trips for NOLS and other organizations and has lived in Jackson since 1992.

“We interviewed several solid candidates, but Rebecca is the best person for this job,” said Scott Garland, board co-chairman. “She has the right balance of passion for the Snake River and vision and communication skills that the Fund needs right now. The entire Snake River Fund board looks forward to working with Rebecca to continue achieving the river access and stewardship work that the Fund has been involved with for over a decade.”

Reimers takes over as the Fund continues to work in partnership with the Bridger-Teton National Forest on management and maintenance of facilities in the Snake River Canyon. The Fund also is helping to coordinate a number of projects upstream, including the new Rendezvous Lands Conservancy park at Wilson and transfer of BLM parcels along the Snake. She has been part of the task force charged with transferring ownership of the parcels to other public agencies, including the Bridger-Teton, Wyoming Game and Fish Department and Teton County.

Reimers grew up canoeing in northern Ontario, where her father was director of a wilderness camp. She learned to kayak on the Snake and with her husband, Bart Monson, has paddled rivers around the West, including the Arkansas, Yampa, South Platte and Grand Canyon of the Colorado, which she calls “one of my favorite places on the planet.” She also has kayaked in Nepal, Costa Rica and Ecuador. She comes from a river-running family, as parents Fred and Margie of Jackson enjoy floating and brother Frederick is former editor of Paddler and Canoe and Kayak magazines.

“I’m so pleased to have this amazing opportunity to work for the Snake River Fund in a permanent position,” she said. “Together with our highly competent and dedicated board and staff, the Fund will continue to have a significant impact in education, stewardship and access around the Snake River watershed for years to come.”

Reimers replaces Marley Vaughn, who left in November after helping build the organization over the last four years.

Just in time for the holidays, a partnership of nonprofit groups signed a deal this week to give the community an enormous gift: a 40-acre park along the Snake River at Wilson.

Thanks to the Jackson Hole Land Trust, LOR Foundation and The Conservation Fund, the property will be the centerpiece of a river recreation area with possible trails, fishing ponds and habitat restoration. The deal opens the door to a possible pathway bridge connecting public lands on both sides of the river, as well as a possible overhaul of the Wilson boat launch to improve the ramp, parking, shoreline and swimming access.

The Snake River Fund had been in talks for years with the landowners and community groups working to broker a deal. “We never gave up,” says emeritus board member Aaron Pruzan. “We always believed it could happen.”

The acquisition is one of two exciting developments for that portion of the Snake, as Teton County also has laid out an encouraging timeline for transfer of the BLM parcels at Wilson and South Park.

Coordinating the transfer of the Wilson, South Park and other parcels — totaling nearly 1,000 acres along the Snake — has been a longstanding priority for the Fund. Steve Ashworth, director of Jackson-Teton County Parks and Recreation, has worked with engineering staff and the BLM’s Pinedale office to lay out a plan by which the county would take over the parcels near Wilson and South Park by 2014.

Ashworth sees an opportunity to plan a network of recreational and transportation facilities stretching from the Wilson Centennial Trail across to the east bank of the Snake. With this week’s acquisition of the 40 acres, formerly a gravel mining site, a critical piece is in place.

This early conceptual drawing from 2009 shows how facilities possibly could be reconfigured on the BLM and River Springs parcels.

Known as River Springs, the property sits on the northwest side of the Wilson bridge, upstream of the existing boat launch. It is adjacent to the BLM parcel slated to be transferred to Teton County, and just across Highway 390 from the Stilson Transit Center, a bus hub where pathways from Wilson and Teton Village converge.

“It’s a great location for public access to the river, and a great location for a public park that provides amenities close to the population centers,” says Hal Hutchinson, executive director of the LOR Foundation. Based in Jackson, LOR is a private foundation that seeks to improve quality of life around the Mountain West, integrating alternative transportation, sustainable land use and cultural and recreational amenities.

At this stage, nothing is planned for the property beyond reclaiming the gravel pit. LOR’s Hutchinson says he looks forward to working with the Snake River Fund, Friends of Pathways and the Land Trust to involve the public in the planning process. “We’re going to figure out what the community wants out of it, and then go in that direction,” he says.

Paddling south of Wilson.

The property will be held by the Rendezvous Lands Conservancy, a nonprofit entity jointly created by the Land Trust and LOR Foundation. The Land Trust ultimately will hold a conservation easement on the property, guaranteeing public access to riverfront trails and other recreational amenities in a natural setting, and preserving the future possibility for boat launch and pathway improvements, including a path bridge landing.

The Conservation Fund, a national organization with a staffer, Luke Lynch, in Jackson, made a loan to the Land Trust to help complete the deal; the Trust will have two years to raise money from the community and pay back the loan.

The parties had been working to secure the property since 2009. Friends of Pathways also was involved. Talks had stalled after a group of investors bought the land, but this fall Pruzan and another former Snake River Fund board member, Corey Milligan, brought the players back to the table and helped break the impasse.

Laurie Andrews, Land Trust executive director, says her group was thrilled to have a second chance to conserve the property. “All the months of planning and discussions are well worth the amazing outcome,” she says. “We really see this project as an enduring gift to our community.”

(Top photo by Morris Weintraub)

Fifth-Grade Float Trips continue to be one of the Fund’s most effective educational programs, as more than 200 elementary school students got a hands-on lesson in hydrology, ecology and safety this year.

Eleven classes from all schools in Teton County participated, except for Alta and Moran, which will have an opportunity this spring. The field trip, essentially a floating classroom, dovetails with the fifth-grade science curriculum, as the students also spend a night at Teton Science Schools learning about riparian vegetation, watersheds, erosion, raptors and river dynamics.

All of the floats stopped at A.J. DeRosa’s riverside tipi camp for lunch, where the kids got to observe a beaver dam, cut willows and other signs of beaver activity. One of the highlights this year was watching a family of otters swimming in the river.

For many of the kids, this was their first opportunity to float the Snake.

“Thank you so much for taking us on the Snake River and teaching us lots of things about eagles and hawks and otters and woodpeckers and other wildlife,” one student, Samantha, wrote in a thank-you letter to SRF program director Margaret Creel and the trip’s guide. “I loved the water and the place we ate lunch it was so beautiful. and I had so much fun and I want to come again.”

“It was amazingly pretty,” added another student, Bianca, in her thank-you letter. “It was cool when we saw five bald eagles and we saw otters and we saw and learned so much about the Snake River.”

“It was one of the best river trips I’ve ever been on,” wrote Jane in her letter to board chair Marian Meyers, who helped with interpretation on one of the trips.

The students floated from Wilson to South Park. Boats and guides were donated by Jackson Hole Whitewater, Barker-Ewing, Mad River, Lewis and Clark, and Dave Hansen. Helping SRF board members and staff with interpretation were representatives of Wyoming Game and Fish, Bridger-Teton National Forest, National Museum of Wildlife Art and Brigid Sinram, naturalist at Grand Targhee Resort.

2011 will go down as a historic year in the annals of Snake River running. The Double Draw Slide created a new rapid that made for an exciting whitewater run all season long.

On the weekend of May 14 and 15, a brief thaw unleashed a torrent of runoff from the huge winter snowpack. A hillside in the Snake River Canyon collapsed, sending a stream of water, mud, rocks and trees oozing across Highway 26/89 into the Snake several hundred feet below.

The slide closed the highway for two weeks and eventually tore a gash in the roadbed. At the river, the pile of debris acted as a natural dam, backing up the flow and creating a horizon line of a rapid as one looked downstream. Suddenly, what had been a relatively mild set of waves at the First Cut Bank became a cataract with a hole on river left and surging piles of water everywhere.

“It’s a major change,” says Tom Kemper, guide for Jackson Hole Whitewater, who has been rowing the canyon for 38 years. “Now it’s an amazing rapid. A great ride.”

Highway damage at Blue Trails, downstream of the slide.

Fortunately for outfitters, once the slide stabilized, the Wyoming Department of Transportation worked ’round the clock to reopen the highway and provide access to the popular whitewater stretch. Yet instability remained on the slope above the river, forcing crews to take emergency measures to stabilize the highway.

That work, approved by the Forest Service on a temporary basis, left a pile of boulders at the river’s edge to keep the slope from collapsing. Darin Martens, WyDOT liaison for the Forest Service, says the agency will continue to assess the situation and may make a recommendation after high water recedes this spring on what steps, if any, should be taken. This stretch of river is protected as Wild and Scenic.

The change in river features affected nearby Taco Hole, just upstream of the slide. Once a common play spot for kayakers, the hole is now mostly underwater and washed out. But a pullout on the highway remains a popular stop for motorists and boaters, providing access to the McDougal-Werk Trail that leads to the river.

Eagle Scout Dusty Perrin sits on the new fence he built at Taco Hole.

This parking area got a much-needed facelift over the summer, thanks to the work of Eagle Scout Dusty Perrin and friends. With guidance from Bridger-Teton river ranger John Newman, Perrin raised money for, designed and built a new wooden fence along the perimeter of the turnout.

“It was really professionally done,” says Newman, once an Eagle Scout himself. The fence “looks 100 times better than it did. It makes the aesthetics of the river corridor a lot better.” Now, even motorists who pull over for a quick photo will enjoy a “clean, natural environment” above the river, he says.

Perrin, a high school student who lives in Alpine and plays for the Broncs football team, began the project in May and finished in mid-July.

The fifth annual Snake River Days summer camp drew a record number of participants, 18, including four students on scholarship.

The five-day joint program with Parks and Rec dazzled even a young star of ABC’s “Modern Family.” Campers went rafting, canoeing, fishing, did an overnight trip and tried stand-up paddle boards. They covered the river from dam to canyon. In the spirit of the Muries, the kids also picked up trash and painted over graffiti at the Wilson bridge.

The camp began with an introduction to the watershed with staff from Teton Science Schools. Campers hit Ditch Creek to dig up bugs and learn about aquatic invertebrates. From there, it was off to Slide Lake for paddling in canoes, touring kayaks and paddle boards donated by Rendezvous River Sports.

The kids also floated the wildlife-rich stretch from Jackson Lake Dam to Pacific Creek in Grand Teton National Park. They learned fly fishing at the Murie Center in Moose, thanks to a donation from Trout Unlimited.

Mad River Boat Trips donated rafts and guides for river trips between Wilson and South Park and through the whitewater stretch in the canyon. Campers spent the night at A.J. DeRosa’s riverside tipi camp near Taylor Creek. The Habitat ReStore donated paint for the kids’ service project, covering up graffiti at Wilson.

During the whitewater float, a camera crew filmed one of the boats that had a special guest passenger, Nolan Gould, a young actor in town for the filming of the “Modern Family” premiere at Lost Creek Ranch. Fortunately, everyone stayed upright!

Scholarships were donated by Barker-Ewing, Lewis and Clark and Wells Fargo. Vail Resorts Echo, its charitable giving arm, also contributed financial help.

The river camp would not be possible without the continued cooperation of Jackson-Teton County Parks and Recreation.

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

August 30, 2011

Film Screening of The River Why to Benefit the Snake River Fund

River advocates and special guests come together to celebrate a screening of ‘The River Why’.

Jackson, Wyo. —

On September 13, 2011 at the Center For the Arts, the Snake River Fund and Patagonia are teaming up to bring the premiere of The River Why to Jackson Hole  in a special benefit screening of this gorgeous film, featuring the love of flyfishing and the wilderness.

River advocates, special guests and ticket holders will have the chance to see the special screening as well as support the Snake River Fund, a local nonprofit that since 1998 has been promoting stewardship and recreational access in the Snake River watershed with an emphasis on partnerships, education and public outreach.

Set on the banks of a wild river, The River Why is the story of 20 year old Gus Orviston, the Mozart of flyfishing, who leaves his big city home in rebellion from his family to live in a secluded cabin on the banks of a wild river. Instead of finding fishing bliss, his desolation drives him on a reluctant quest for self-discovery. In the process he comes in contact with an assortment of eccentric characters who help him in his journey to adulthood. Most of all, The River Why is a love story. The love of a man for the wilderness, and for a beautiful woman who comes to share it with him.

“This is a great story about the personal connection to rivers that we can all enjoy here as well in the Snake Watershed,” said Marley Vaughn, Executive Director of the Snake River Fund “We work hard to ensure that everyone and all ages have the ability to access and experience the benefits provided by our incredible  and healthy  watershed.”

Join Peloton Productions and the Snake River Fund to enjoy an excellent film, prize giveaways and support Jackson’s precious watershed.

When: September 13, 2011, doors open 6:30 p.m., program starts at 7:30 p.m.

Where: Center For the Arts, Center Box Office and theater located two blocks south of the Town Square, 265 Cache Street, Jackson Wyoming

$15 tickets available for purchase on http://www.jhcenterforthearts.org/calendar.

About the Snake River Fund

The Snake River Fund is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to promoting stewardship of and recreational access to the Snake River watershed in Wyoming. The Fund also exists as a unique partnership between the community and the Bridger-Teton National Forest, which manages the roughly 30-mile stretch of the Snake River Canyon between South Park Bridge and Palisades Reservoir. Since 1998, our donation-based, grassroots organization has provided funding to the Forest Service for river personnel, facilities upkeep in the Canyon and from Wilson to South Park along the Snake River, training and education programs, and other critical river services.

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• Is there a need to change how camping along Granite Creek exists now?

• When natural conditions create debris in the river, how much should the Forest Service do in removing it?

Shoal Creek, a newly designated Wild and Scenic River

Join us next Friday, Aug. 26th,  from 4 to 7 p.m. to give input on questions like these and help the Bridger-Teton National Forest develop the Snake River Headwaters Comprehensive River Management Plan.

The Snake River Fund, in partnership with the Bridger-Teton, will be co-hosting a BBQ and public commenting opportunity at the Boy Scout High Adventure Camp, one mile southwest of Hoback Junction on Highway 26/89. This is a great opportunity for the public to help steer the Forest Service’s management plan.

The Comprehensive River Management Plan will guide uses along the 402 miles of new Wild and Scenic rivers surrounding Jackson Hole for the next 10 to 20 years, much like a Forest Plan guides activities on national forests and a General Management Plan guides activities in national parks. The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act requires that a CRMP be completed within three years of passage of Wild and Scenic designation.

The planning process over the coming months is the critical foundation to how the headwaters will be managed into the future and requires an engaged public to be successful. We hope to see you next Friday! For additional information about the Snake River Headwaters planning, please visit online at:

http://www.snakeheadwatersact.com or    http://parkplanning.nps.gov/snakeriver

Thanks in advance for recommitting yourselves to this issue.

Fallen Tree Blocks Hoback River

Jackson, Wyo. – A tree has blocked the majority of the channel of the Hoback River south of Jackson, Wyoming making it difficult for watercraft and swimmers to pass on that portion of the Bridger-Teton National Forest.

The fallen tree is perpendicular to the flow of the water and lodged in an area called “Campground Wave”, directly east of Hoback Junction between Camp Creek Restaurant and the Hoback Junction visible from Highway 191. The tree’s trunk is predominantly underwater, but branches remaining on the tree jut multiple feet into the air, and look like a comb. This river hazard was reported by a Forest permittee who was scouting the river before launching his watercraft for the day. “Conditions are constantly changing on the rivers and we highly encourage all river users to scout the channels before they launch their vessels, even if they are familiar with the features of the river,” said Jackson District Ranger Dale Deiter. “We have some significantly higher flows than we have had in the past and that brings new challenges to river users,” he said.

The recreation staff is currently placing signs at various access points along the Hoback River to caution visitors of the significant hazard posed by this tree. The tree is lodged on a large rock in the middle of the channel, and is very difficult to safely approach at high water for removal. Visitors are being warned to be careful when utilizing the Hoback River until the Forest is able to remove the tree. Dieter offered, “This is not the season to let your guard down. Anytime you are on or crossing moving water, please be aware of changing conditions.”

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Mary Cernicek
Public Affairs Officer
Bridger-Teton National Forest
PO Box 1888
Jackson, WY 83001
307-739-5564
cell 307-413-2481
fax 307-739-5010

Jackson, Wyo. – James Sawyer, 77 of Cedar Rapids, Iowa died on the section of the Snake River managed by the Bridger-Teton National Forest on Thursday, July 7, 2011 south of Jackson, Wyoming.

The visitor was a customer of the Forest’s permitted outfitter Jackson Hole Whitewater. This is the fourth commercial fatality in over 40-years of outfitted services which exceed over two million rafting clients served on the Wild & Scenic Snake River in the Bridger-Teton National Forest.

“Our outfitters all have excellent safety records,” said Jackson District Ranger Dale Deiter.  “We continue to encourage people and groups coming to run the river to join an outfitted trip rather than trust their lives to less experienced folks with or without the gear, training and knowledge that can change a surprise into a statistic,” he said.  Whitewater rafting is an inherently risky activity.  “A lot of our upsets this year are coming from Double Draw, a rapid formed in a landslide earlier in the summer,” said Deiter. “Our condolences go out to the family as they mourn the loss of their loved one,” he said.

The victim was a male in his seventies who came out of the boat at Lunch Counter rapid. His guide tried to catch him, but he was ejected in a large wave. He was pulled out of the water at a river feature known as “Champagne” where Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) was initiated. Bridger-Teton River Rangers, Star Valley Search and Rescue, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and commercial river guides and private boaters on scene all aided in pulling the victim from the water and initiating CPR in an attempt to revive him. Star Valley Search and Rescue used a jet boat to transport the victim to the Sheep Gulch boat ramp when he was put in an ambulance and taken to Star Valley Medical Center.

Many visitors to the Bridger-Teton are getting on the water not understanding that the water level is 5-times what it generally has been in the most recent years at this date, and do not check or inquire about new or certain features that come out at high water levels.

Self-outfitted organizational groups and those who drink excessively tend to have more needs for search and rescue as well as extrication and medical assistance. “We recover many people, boats and paddles when the water is higher,” said Deiter.  “Many choose to continue their float downstream even though they have lost their paddles, and can’t steer, which is unfortunate,” he said.

As whitewater rafting is a physically strenuous activity, the Bridger-Teton is encouraging those that participate in this form of recreation be physically able to participate fully in the sport, and capable of aiding in their own rescue should the need arise. “If you have or have had previous medical issues that may not respond well to strenuous physical activities or cold water, make your physician, outfitter, guide or trip leader aware of the issues prior to leaving for the river,” said Deiter. Heart problems, back injuries, prior bone injuries, allergies and surgical interventions may be exacerbated when mixed with river water. It is the responsibility of all river users to inform others in their group of past or current health issues. If there is any question, erring on the side of staying off the river will significantly improve the odds of not having a river emergency for you and others.

Mary Cernicek
Public Affairs Officer
Bridger-Teton National Forest
PO Box 1888
Jackson, WY 83001
307-739-5564
cell 307-413-2481
fax 307-739-5010