[Riverlife]

Thought this might interest some of you: Congressman DeFazio Leads Charge to Protect the Wild Rogue Wilderness as Legacy

So nice to read a bit of positive news now and then, and I applaud Defazio for his continued advocacy.

 

[Ezcruzr]

I hope with Peter DeFazio retiring, who ever takes his place keeps up his good work. The Rogue is a gem for Oregon. I've been down it numerous times and when ever I hit Clayhill still water, I always feel I'm leaving too soon.

 

[zcollier]

DeFazio just left office. He had opportunities to step up for the Rogue in the past but stayed silent because (in my opinion) his ties to the timber lobby. This last effort was too little, too late.

Adding these final pieces of protections for the Rogue River is something that many people have been working on for a long time. It's going to be tricky moving forward because the Rogue River is now in Cliff Bentz's district after the last redistricting.

If you want to support these efforts, joing KS Wild is a good first step.

Also, here's a video we made 7 years ago that has a lot of information from key players about this:

 

[Riverlife]

Nice video there Zach. I actually hesitated a bit about posting the article for a few reasons. First off, because it was very sparse and lacking any real details, second because anything related to politics and politicians is practically guaranteed to draw some criticism and what not. I shared it anyway because it made me happy to see something positive in the news about a place I love. I also didn’t mean to imply in any way that this was some one man crusade to save the river. No good conservation cause ever gets anything done without the hard work of many good people.

Was not my intention to start a debate or flame war about the nitty gritty of Oregon politics. I don’t exactly disagree with where you’re coming from, though I don’t think your criticism of Defazio is entirely fair either. He’s a very successful politician in an interesting district that is both very liberal and environmentally progressive on the one hand, but also still very much a big timber stronghold (especially in the era when he was first elected to congress).

I have had my frustrations at times with him, but he has also been a pretty positive advocate for the things that we as boaters love and appreciate. He’s still a politician of course, and like it or not no politician stays in office long without making some deals with powerful lobby forces. All said, I feel it’s helpful to celebrate even the small or symbolic victories when and where we get them, and I will applaud and thank any politician when they do get things right. Hell, I have even written thank you letters to my congressman; a man that I disagree with about 99% of the time.

 

[Nanko]

IMO, DeFazio wasn’t the quite the ally on wilderness that some might think he was, but he was the devil we knew. I realize it’s easy to complain from behind a laptop screen, and he had to navigate an intense and complex political environment. If you haven’t heard the podcast Timber Wars, it’s a good introduction to rural Oregon politics.

Bentz will make conservation efforts like this much more difficult. Listen to zcollier and find ways to get involved on a local level. Yes, join KS Wild. Cutting trail with the Siskiyou Mountain Club is also a good way to get involved with these lands.

 

[theBoatPeople]

Lee Arbach of TBP took me and three Taiwan friends down the Rogue in 1992. It was the first time since canoe camping in the Boundary Waters + rafting Colorado River that I felt isolated/remote on a river for days, one week total. I ran many nice California rivers but at most we camped one night then at the take-out. The Rogue was a really nice trip. The girls are from Taiwan, Taipei which is more built up than anything we experience in USA, more than the heart of NYC and LA combined. So the Rogue was a once in a life experience for them. I only remember seeing one boater group, two rafts, then the Ranger’s raft. It’s nice to know the Rogue is mostly the same. We didn't see any wildfire smoke, the night stars were incredible where we could see the Milky Way Galaxy as thick cluster and shooting starts. The Paradise Lodge was a nice stop after being on the river for days but we continued further. I don't remember many blackberries until the take out. TBP Admin
Rogue River 1992

 

[Will Amette]

It's a "little bit" more crowded now. Not Taipei crowded, but you will see LOTS of other boats.

Someone once suggested it's a great river to do solo because if you get injured, you just have to wait 15 minutes for someone to come by....

 

[Gchapman]

It's a "little bit" more crowded now. Not Taipei crowded, but you will see LOTS of other boats.

Someone once suggested it's a great river to do solo because if you get injured, you just have to wait 15 minutes for someone to come by....

“Someone” I know spent most of a day with their gear boat pinned against the rock in Wildcat, and I (I mean THEY) were very surprised how few people came by. Only one other commercial company and about three private groups.

 

[Will Amette]

I almost always end up too far right at Wildcat. I told my passenger that before we dropped in because I knew she'd be freaked out if we went that far and she wasn't prepared.

Buddy saw my bad line and went farther left. He wasn't stuck on that rock THAT long. Sounds like you were your friend was hung up worse. Not a fun place to be stuck; hard to offer much help.

I'm glad you were your friend was able to enjoy a little solitude.

 

[Gchapman]

I almost always end up too far right at Wildcat…

Not a fun place to be stuck; hard to offer much help.

I'm glad you were your friend was able to enjoy a little solitude.

Very frustrating stick. I could push either end of my fully loaded commercial gear boat off their respective rock, but not far enough to swing around. Water is too deep to wade, and the sieve between the rocks made that a little too risky for my taste. At one point I had two oars strapped together to try and gain more distance. I was shooting for Wildcat camp and was sure someone was going to take it while my rookie butt was stuck on a rock. After several hours I gave up and waited for the rest of the crew to show up. The TL LAUGHED at me when she came around the corner and saw me lounging on the stack of pacos reading a book.

 

[Will Amette]

Very frustrating stick. I could push either end of my fully loaded commercial gear boat off their respective rock, but not far enough to swing around. Water is too deep to wade, and the sieve between the rocks made that a little too risky for my taste. At one point I had two oars strapped together to try and gain more distance. I was shooting for Wildcat camp and was sure someone was going to take it while my rookie butt was stuck on a rock. After several hours I gave up and waited for the rest of the crew to show up. The TL LAUGHED at me when she came around the corner and saw me lounging on the stack of pacos reading a book.

I bet a bagel that NEVER HAPPENED TO YOU YOUR FRIEND AGAIN.

 

[NativeDiver]

Those would be nice- but they are all out of stock-