President's Corner
Safety Auction, Spring Run-Off, and River Democracy
By Scott Harvey
Greetings fellow club members,
Safety Auction:
By the time you receive this Newsletter for March, the OWA Safety Auction will be well under way and at last count there were 27 items up for auction. If you didn’t receive any good news from recreation.gov that you were awarded a river permit in 2021, you may already know someone who has and/or you’ve been invited on a multi-day river trip this summer. Here’s some good news to consider if you’re still in the early river trip planning stages, there are seven venders who have donated a total of 12 river shuttles to this year’s safety auction. Three shuttles are for the Deschutes River and there are two shuttles for the Rogue River. Also included are several shuttles in Idaho for the Middle Fork Salmon, Main Salmon and Lower Salmon Rivers. There are a couple Hells Canyon shuttles, a Selway River and South Fork Salmon River shuttle. The Safety Auction is only up for 10 day’s this year and will be ending on March 10 th at 8:00 pm PST. So check it Out!
I’d like to highlight a couple of important points regarding the Safety Auction:
-
This auction directly supports the OWA safety programs.
-
We have a 100% satisfaction guarantee that is backed by OWA. If for any reason you feel like you didn’t get what you paid for we will fix it and make it right.
-
Most items have a buy it now price that is like getting an instant discount on the item.
You don’t like drama? Then buy it now.
Link to the Safety Auction: 2021 OWA Annual Safety Auction | 32auctions
Mountain Snow Pack:
Great news regarding snow pack levels in the Western States. The Cascade Mountains in Oregon are reported to be at normal snow pack levels (100%) in 2021 for early March. The Blue and Wallowa Mountains in NE Oregon that feed the John Day and Grande Ronde Rivers are roughly at 130% snow pack levels. The Washington Cascade Mountain snowpack ranges between 124% and 146% for March. In Idaho, the Salmon and Clearwater drainages range between 100% to 114% snow pack. Basically if everything holds through early spring, it should be a good boating season in the Northwest!
River Democracy Act:
U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley of Oregon have introduced legislation (the River Democracy Act) to add almost 4,700 miles of rivers and streams in all corners of Oregon to the national Wild and Scenic Rivers system. This preserves the selected river corridors in the legislation as natural flowing rivers for the future as well as to expand recreation access, sustain endangered fish and wildlife species, reduce wildfire threats, protect drinking water and so forth. If you agree with this River Democracy Act, please consider reaching out to both Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and thank them for this legislation.
Oregon Senator Ron Wyden: www.wyden.senate.gov
Click on the Contact Tab to send Senator Wyden an e-mail.
Click on the News Tab and scroll down to February 03, 2021 to read about the River Democracy Act.
Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley: www.merkley.senate.gov
Click on the Connect Tab to send Senator Merkley an e-mail.
Reminder:
We are always looking for guest speakers for club meetings, river trip write-ups and your photos to be included in the OWA Newsletter. Photos can comprise of river trips, whitewater action shots, river scenery shots, wildlife along the rivers, river history or campsite and group photos of club members. Remember, your name will be submitted in the prize drawing at the end of the year for your contribution.