River Alchemy
point: Value your river writer Jeff Jackson
I was eight, Walter’s delivered most every haircut I’ve had, standing behind the same barber chair, wearing the same yel- low barber’s smock. His barbershop is a shrine to small-town living where I come from: stuffed walleye, curling trophies, a mounted deer head, the 1950s championship hockey team photo (signed), and a stack of 10-year-old Field and Stream magazines.
I
I don’t care much about haircuts. I care about rivers. Walter the bar- ber cares about both. He understands the concept of creating value. I don’t mean economic value. I mean intrinsic value—the one without a price tag.
iver Alchemy has told the stories of men and women tied to rivers, undertaking heroic acts. People like Ken Madsen, Ric Careless and Éric Gagnon who are courageously fighting against a face- less machine of dividends and development (or worse yet, apathy), committing themselves to an idea of wilderness and river conservation that may never come to fruition. Saving rivers is for heroes. We as paddlers give a nod in the direction of these heroes, dip our blades in the very idea they fight for, and indulge in our hedonistic pas- time. After all, we think, whitewater is free.
R
In our economic times, “free” also means “not worth anything.”
In our economic times, “free” also means “not worth anything.” When a river or watershed is on the block for development, diver- sion and dividends, the economic benefit is real, albeit short-term. The decision makers, then, turn to the other side of the table and ask, “How much is your river making us now?” Our heroes step up to the plate and fight dollars with dollars, citing tourism revenue and impact mitigation costs and finding holes in the project’s financial projections. I call this the “reactive” school of river conservation: a threat emerges, heroes rally to the call and fight the battle. There is another school that says, if society valued our rivers then these proposals would never be put forward in the first place. As a nation, we respect our rivers but view them from a utilitarian perspec- tive. We sense a historical value to our rivers, but fail to connect that to the future. That value does not have dollars and cents attached, and therefore fails when put to today’s financial test. As paddlers we value
our rivers as playgrounds, but too often miss the future step.
M
y barber is as foulmouthed as they come. The whole 20-minute haircut is an exhausting monologue haranguing most everyone
and everything. But I look forward to Walter’s tirades against immigra- tion, Goddamned government, gun control, taxes, animal rights activists, softwood lumber stumpage fees, environmentalists and the morons who are fouling our rivers. While Walter may not have much use for the Liberals, he places great value on his river. When my barber is not cutting hair, he is fishing. He likes holding a rod and standing up to his knees in water, having it press against his waders and swirl in an eddy behind his calves. Walter was instrumental in cleaning up and restoring the small river that runs through our town. For 100 years used and ignored, the river is now a centrepiece and point of pride for the community. Walter knows that for our river to prosper, a sense of value is required, not economics. So how do paddlers create value, the non-economic value that will stand and build to the future, ensuring flowing water for the next generation? We need to share the power of moving water. The result will be more whitewater paddlers maybe, but more importantly, more average people with a glimpse of the beauty we pursue. Teach a friend or a stranger to paddle. Take your family (gasp!) rafting—do they really have any clue what you do or why? Explore your local river. Float it, hike it, figure out where it comes from and where it goes. Tell other people about it. Your local newspaper would likely send along a reporter and make you a celebrity. Call your city or county administrator and tell them that your river is valuable and you are expecting them to act in its best interest. No heroic acts necessary, just responsible peo- ple with an eye to the future.
That glow we feel at the takeout is proof of the value that rivers
hold. We know it. Now we need to help the people who have never been in current to see the power and joy that lives there. It’s like Walter says: “You just gotta make people give a shit.”
Foulmouthed barber cuts to the
live in a small town and go to a small- town barber. His name is Walter. Since
18
www.rapidmag.com
photo: Rapid Stock Images
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52