HOW TO SAVE (ACCESS TO) A RIVER PART VII: WHITEWATER & WILDFIRES

In this column, Priscilla examines the impact of recent wildfires on communities and on outdoor recreation and discusses growing concerns with the prolonged closure orders limiting river access in California and Oregon.

By Priscilla Macy

In 2020, the Western United States experienced a record-breaking year of devastating wildfires. By September of 2020, over five million acres in Oregon, Washington, and California had burned. The smoke from these fires could be seen from space and traveled thousands of miles, reaching Northern Europe. As a result, communities, businesses, natural landscapes, and ecosystems have been devastated. Even after the flames have been extinguished and communities have begun to rebuild, large swaths of forests and, in some areas, entire river drainages remain closed to the public—in the name of public safety. Increased frustrations from communities, the public, conservation groups, and recreation groups have led to the questioning and examining of management practices after a wildfire occurs. CASE: THE CLACKAMAS RIVER, OREGON, US. In 2020 over a million acres were burned by…

You're reading a preview of

Kayak Session (Digital) - 1 Issue, Fall 2021

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.