Salvaging Lost Paddle Trails and Greenways

Thomas Jefferson once said, “I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.”

In the South Eastern USA, Richard Grove and like-minded associates, are turning those dreams into paddling reality.

In response to calls for assistance from local paddlers and outfitters, or through our own wanderlust and sense of exploration, we investigate and rediscover paddle routes in our backyards that have been ‘lost’ to flood debris and other natural occurrences. Some of these river sections have not been accessible to kayaks and canoes for several years. Dead-falls; “widow makers” and other hazardous “strainer” types of obstructions, effectively block access to all but the most determined backwoods explorers.

Removing these obstructions requires the use of chainsaws and other lumber wrangling tools -all of which must fit in/on a kayak!  Imagine long hours spent immersed in the river current with your wits set to 11. Working carefully in teams to solve each part of the log jam puzzle. Broken/immersed chainsaws and dropped/broken tools… It is the norm to have to return to a site to observe and respond to recent high-water/flooding action on shifting dead loads and other debris.

One of the rewards for us, is the knowledge that we will soon lead a paddling trip with local paddlers, through this reclaimed section of their backyards. Of course, we intend to share this route with as many paddlers as we can; but these local paddlers represent the best pool of environmental stewards/stakeholders to manage this local paddling community asset.

An important element of our modest ambitions is to encourage and support local communities in developing low impact, high value paddling resources that are accessible to the widest range of regional demographic sectors. We want all sorts of paddlers to have more local paddling options. Inherent to our overall strategy of paddle-sports development is the process of increasing local public awareness through targeted community interaction. We welcome the opportunity to include local governments; businesses; NGO’s and other stakeholders in our plans to extend paddling opportunities within their specific area.

Progressive dialog to map out the community’s challenges in taking advantage of these types of opportunities and our volunteer-driven experience, is a basic step towards a viable plan of action. We continue to act on our plans to paddle in your neck of the woods, but we’d like to extend the opportunity for your community to be more involved. We encourage knowledge sharing between respected and locally relevant channels of communication, to keep the process moving forward.

It is important to note that the scale of your proposed community outreach activity should be guided by a local needs/resource assessment. The fact that an activity has been effective in one community does not guarantee it will be successful in other sites! From certain perspectives, greenways/paddle trails are relatively low-impact. The river is already there and there are fewer access paths to develop and maintain as compared to other community assets; for example, a bike/running trail. The “If we build it, they will come” concept is not always a sustainable, or diligent, use of a community’s resources; despite the good intentions that sired it! To quote Mr. Jefferson once more, “I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.” As experienced, enthusiastic paddlers and paddle/camp trip leaders, we understand the scope of balancing accessibility criteria with the natural beauty of a paddle trail. It is important that the natural flow of the path be free of unnecessary signage and other man-made intrusions.

If you have a paddling related project in mind, please contact Richard to discuss the high-level view. We are not currently, or have ever been, a grant funded group.  We have no lobbyist mandates to meet. We are a group of like-minded, action oriented paddlers, who are enthusiastic about sharing the rewards of paddle-sports with the communities that we paddle through.

We look forward to enabling a progressive change in your community, or at least enjoying your company on our new paddling trip!