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Ho, Ho, Hooo or Oh Nooo! However you look at it – tis The Season.

Mark your calendar or better yet use the one included in this issue of your newsletter. The IWA Christmas Party is December 4th. If you haven’t been to one before then you MUST show up. This year we are having heavy hors d’ouvres prepared by Evelyn Camp. Some liquid refreshments provided – you’re allowed to bring some of your favorite flavor.

The party is just that – a party. No pressure to pay attention to a speaker or demonstrate your skill at saving a life! It’s a chance to chat with folks you haven’t seen since the river levels fell. There is ONE REQUIREMENT though. There will be a white-elephant gift exchange. The ultimate chance to have wicked-fun in gift giving (and get rid of some junk you don’t want). Or, I guess, you could always be nice and give something worth having away.

For those not familiar with a white-elephant gift exchange here’s how it works. You bring a gift (naughty or nice) wrapped in anything from gold lame’ to the Sunday funnies. Here’s a really great twist to this type of gift exchange – IRS wraps up some great merchandise from their shelves as gifts! Then everyone draws a number. The person with number 1 goes first; picks a gift; unwraps it and shows it to everyone. The person with number 2 goes next (see the pattern here?). Now person #2 has a tough decision to make; do they pick a new gift from under the tree or ‘steal’ the gift from person #1? If they steal the gift from person #1 then person #1 gets to pick another gift. The third time a gift gets ‘stolen’ it stays with that person. Here’s where bringing your partner and/or a few friends comes in handy. Sometimes it takes quite a bit of strategy and some intermediate ‘stealing’ to be the third person with the coveted gift.

So . . . bring your partner, invite a friend or two, but above all else come and have fun.

LATE BREAKING NEWS FLASH – there will be a contest at the party!! A prize will be awarded to the person who comes up with the most ‘unique’ use for the river runners friend – Duct Tape. I hear that a ‘unique’ prize will be awarded.
If You Missed Our November Meeting! You Blew-It.

Somewhere around 130 of your fellow boaters showed up for a great time and a fantastic presentation by Charlie Munsey. I love the way he doesn’t sugar-coat his commentary. His slides showed some beautiful scenery/geology. The Tsang Po suture is the name of the area where India is slamming into Asia causing all those really tall hills over there!

A big hello and welcome goes to Tom Roberts who won a one year free membership to IWA by being super accurate in the rescue rope throw contest.

So a very special thanks goes to Charlie Munsey, AIRE and crew, and the IRS folks for all the work they did to set-up and clean-up.
Last Newsletter:

 One Last time.  If you see an “01” on the bottom right of your mailing label, the bad news is that this is your LAST NEWSLETTER. The tragic part is you don’t get to come to the Christmas Party and will miss out on a chance to buy a raffle ticket for the amazing prizes at the annual meeting.
    The good news is that if you PAY UP IMMEDIATELY ($15), all this won’t happen. Support your IWA for 2002. OR . . . send $30 and be paid up for 2002 AND 2003

Lofty ideas but most people inwardly cringe at the implications behind these two words. We currently have around 200 members and, yes, we are looking for volunteers. So how full is your day, week, month, year? If you’re like everyone else your calendar is probably pretty maxed-out. So what are we looking for? Well, of course, board member elections are on the slate for April. Sure, we’re always looking for someone to volunteer for President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Newsletter editor, etc. And we’re serious about that – sure, it’s fun and sometimes rewarding to hold a board position and wouldn’t it be great to have an election where there were two or three candidates for each position to choose from. And, don’t think that being on the board is a 30 hour a day task. You’d be surprised how little time a board position will actually take out of your life. For those who are a little too stressed to take on a board position we have ‘hundreds’ of volunteer-a-little positions.

Volunteer-a-little means just that and you can do it anytime and anywhere. Sounds simple huh; so how do you do it? Simple Solicit new members (you might not have time to be a board member but maybe your friend does); phone, write, or e-mail a new idea; a new project that you would like to see pursued; stories, tips, hints that have helped you in the past or are just fun. Teamwork is sharing and who knows, it may help someone someday or just put a smile on their face. WE NEED INPUT of all kinds so volunteer-a-little, send us your crumbs or pearls.

Cabarton Take-Out Project:

Better known to the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) as “Idaho 55 – Smiths Ferry to Round Valley Alignment Study”. The beautiful, scenic, historic and crumbling Rainbow Bridge is the root of this issue. That stretch of the road and the bridge are totally unsuitable for today’s traffic demands. So ITD is investigating other options including rerouting several miles of the road and building a new bridge across the river. What worries us is what will happen to our semi-unofficial take-out at the end of the Cabarton run? The ITD is taking public input in the form of written comments and we have been working in that manner with them but it’s far from settled. There are a myriad of considerations; land ownership, road maintenance, road closures, etc.  Part of our official written comments to the ITD will expand to how our Payette River fees could and should be used. What do you think? WE NEED INPUT to let them know there are a bunch of boaters out there who want to continue to enjoy Idaho whitewater. Take a minute or two and send us your thoughts.

Tis Also The Season To Apply For River Permits:

By Jason Robertson Dale-Marie Herring (American Whitewater Association - reprint)

"Permit please," says the park ranger before you can put on Utah's Green River. "Two-fifty," says the park attendant on Pennsylvania's lower Youghiogheny River. Restrictive private boater permit systems are used on about 30 rivers nationwide. These systems are managed by many different state and federal agencies, and serve a multitude of purposes. The permits are typically designed to accomplish economic, ecologic, or social objectives. River managers often cite an economic argument for permits. Their premise is that while demands for recreational resources are increasing, administrative budgets are diminishing. Thus river managers are placed in a position of managing increased visitor service demands, while striving to minimize visitor impacts through policies such as "Leave No Trace". The purported success of Fee Demo is directly tied to the effectiveness of permits at generating revenue on public lands. The hidden problem with this permit objective is that the permit management requires increased staffing, enforcement, and administrative processing costs, which often exceed the amount of revenue generated. "Visitor Capacity: A prescribed number and type of visitors that will be accommodated in and area." Interagency Task Force on Visitor Capacity. Both the ecologic and social accomplishments of visitor permits are driven by placing limits on the number of people infiltrating remote wilderness locations. These limits preserve "opportunities for solitude" first and the riparian or riverside ecology second. These protections are secured under a "visitor carrying capacity." The carrying capacity is a number that the river manager has decided is the maximum number of people that the river can handle before certain impacts are observed. According to a 2002 draft report of the Federal Interagency Task Force on Visitor Capacity on Public Lands, "the decision is made within the context of a rationale public planning process and sound professional judgment, and is framed by the desired future conditions for an area's resources, visitor experiences, and management program".

Once the capacity decision has been reached, then the river manager has a variety of tools to select from in managing visitor use to either stay below the capacity threshold or otherwise meet the management objectives. In American Whitewater's experience, well meaning river managers and politicians often view visitor use permits as a panacea for addressing social crowding, riparian impacts, landowner concerns, river safety, funding, or other river management objectives. However, like so many get-well-quick fixes, they are generally no more effective than the remedies sold by snake oil salesmen in the 1800s. This realization explains the proliferation of new permits in the 1970s, the pause in the 1980s, and the retreat in the 1990 s from river permits. Now, the new Millennium and the post-9/11 restrictions on river access are bringing forth a second wave of permits from America's river management agencies as new river managers are experimenting with old ways to manage visitors for their purposes. American Whitewater generally opposes the implementation of river permits as a first step in river management. In nearly 50 years of observation, review, and experience we have learned that most management objectives related to visitor use can be achieved through either passive or more active means, both of which tend to be more effective, cheaper, and less personnel intensive than permit management. American Whitewater believes that the primary utility of recreational permits is to ensure the integrity of the natural resource and to maintain quality outdoor recreation experiences. Permits should not unreasonably restrict access. However, they should be designed to protect a world class niche that is unique to the river, and they should be designed to accomplish that objective as easily and unobtrusively as possible. American Whitewater addresses permitting issues by advocating for fair allocation, counting of people rather than boats, and reallocation of unused slots. We also work toward alternatives to permits altogether unless justified by credible studies. The best    way to get on a regulated river is to support American Whitewater. Then, call the permit party together—here are the facts you need.

15 Ways to Leap on a Permit
By Jason Robertson (AWA)

Tom gets a Grand Canyon permit every year. Jo’s invited down the Selway at least once a summer. Ricardo spends' a week rafting on a Western river for every week he spends at home. Kevin ran the Middle Fork three times this spring on back-to-back trips. They follow the rules. They won’t take your money. They just want to be on your trip. What are their secrets to getting on permitted rivers? Here are my observations:

1. Apply en masse. -Throw a permit party. Invite your boating buddies over to the house, bring your calendars, print the permit applications, pick a launch day (or period) and start practicing your penmanship.

2. Promote your culinary skills. Develop a reputation for cooking 5 star meals on the river and invitations will seek you out. Even if you’re not a great cook, offer to plan and pack the meals.

3. Promote your gear headedness. Gather all the gear that a group will need for a successful multi-day trip. Offer to share your gear for a spot on a trip. Fireboxes, toilet systems, hot shower setups, fast and efficient water filters, and standing kitchens make good investments.

4. Offer to safety boat a raft trip, or raft support a kayak trip.

5. Join the local river club and become an active member.

6 .Call the local outfitters or paddling stores and ask for the inside scoop on how to get around the permit system.

7.  Be flexible. Go before or after the permit season.

8. Learn how to get a launch permit cancellation.

9. Become an expert. Learn all about the lore of a river or the history of a place. Learn how to run each rapid. Keep notes on where the great and not-so-great camping spots are, and how to find them. Also learn where the hot springs are.

10. Promote your willingness for team play. Offer to run shuttle in advance, especially really long shuttles.

11. Hang out. Make your wonderful personality and interest in a trip known at the put-in or take-out, introduce yourself to groups that are going out and ask to go with.

12. Promote your being a cute and/or super fun-to-travel with paddler.

13. Get yourself around. Spend lots of time with lots of people in the boating community.

14. Work for a rafting company on the river.

15. Obtain Wilderness EMT training.

Calendar of Events:

December 4: Annual Christmas Party
    7:00 p.m
   Idaho River Sports
    1521 N. 13th
December 6th:
Idaho Rivers United 8th annual Auction for the Rivers.
6-10 PM
Boise Art Museum
670 Julia Davis Dr.
$10 IRU Members
$12 general public

January 8: January Jump Start
2003 river season information including legislation and river permits.
Confirmed Speakers:
? John Watts, newly appointed Fish & Game Commissioner (fellow boater, too).
?  Bill Sedivy from Idaho Rivers United
? Lisa Applebee, Idaho Transportation Dept.
    7:00 p.m.
   Idaho River Sports
    1521 N. 13th

February 5:  Dutch Oven and Snow Pack Information.
     Cascade Raft Co / Maravia
7:00 p.m.
Garden City
March 5:    We’re looking for a great program.  Got one you want to share or suggest?  Call or e-mail one of the Board Members.  See below.
April 2:  Annual Member Meeting:
     7:00 p.m.
     AIRE:  2021 East Wilson Lane
     Meridian, ID 83642

April 12: Annual Safety Saturday.
Presentations, hints, participation!  Come find out the latest on safety, equipment and “how-to” for river adventures.
     10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
     AIRE:  2021 East Wilson Lane
     Meridian, ID 83642

May 3:  Used Equipment Sale.
   Eastman and 13th, next to IRS.

Gear for Sale
  ?Dagger Super Ego Kayak. 2001 model. Good shape. $500 obo Chris 466-9272 or 454-3280
csn@whitepeterson.com

  ?AIRE Tiger Catacraft.  18.5', 21" joined tubes 1.5" steel frame, aluminum dry box, padded raft seat, and straps.  No rips or tears, $2300.  Dave 343-8088
davidmeredith@sprintmail.com.

? Beautiful, Wilderness Systems Kevlar touring kayak. Sleek and lite – Great Christmas gift. $500 OBO. Bronwyn @ 853-1728 bronwynmyers@cableone.net
Let us know if you sold your stuff!

Trips & Tips

 Ed. Note:   Got a river story, trip, tip or photograph that you’d like to share?  Send them by EMAIL to Ron Myers, (Editor):
rpmyers@cableone.net .  We’ll try not to mangle stuff in the translation to “newsletterease”.

Your Board of Directors:

Jeri Rose, President.   342-2305
airehead@hotmail.com

Mel Johnson, Treas.   343-0970
n2wh20@peoplepc.com

Bronwyn Myers, Sec.      853-1728
bronwynmyers@cableone.net

Stan Kolby, Board Mbr.   338-0546
skolby@rmci.net

Bill Latta, Board Mbr.   344-9443
lattaslaw@cableone.net

John Strange, Board Mbr. 342-2305
airehead@hotmail.com

Susan Wildwood, Board Mbr.   383-0390
darkfire@cableone.net

Ron Myers, Newsletter Editor                853-1728
rpmyers@cableone.net

Idaho River Sports would like to invite you to our Meridian location for a Salmon River Slide show resented by Adventure Photographer Matt Leidecker. Take the ride of your life down the Middle Fork of the Salmon River with his cast of river guides, writers, poets and clients. His show captures wild and scenic views and once in a lifetime stories from adventurers who have floated their way through Idaho's magnificent River of No Return Wilderness. Matt's beautiful coffee table book will be available for sale after the show and 5 of the proceeds go to Idaho Rivers United. Show starts at 7:00 pm December 13th at 2021 East Wilson Lane in Meridian. (Just
South of Fairview, and Locust Grove Rd). Refreshments will he served. There will be a special book signing by Matt Liedecker from 11 am to 3 pm on Saturday the 14th in Hyde Park at Idaho River Sports, 1521 North 13th Street. For more information call 336-4844

Vince's Idaho Whitewater Page
http://www.webpak.net/~rafter/

Real-Time Data for Idaho: Streamflow
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/id/nwis/current/?type=flow

Paddling
http://gorp.com/gorp/activity/paddle.htm
Paddling.net: Canoeing and Kayaking Info
http://www.paddling.net/

American Whitewater Association
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/index.phtml
 
 
 
 
 
 

mailto:idahowhitewater@hotmail.com or
lattaslaw@home.com
 
 

Vince's Idaho Whitewater Page

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