Earlier this week, it was reported that the gate for the Paradise access on the Green was destroyed by a vandal.  It's unclear who did what, but it appears someone was locked in so they used their truck to pull the gate down and destroyed it in the process.  The property owners, the Carters, are aware of the damaged gate and will be assessing just what needs to be repaired in the coming days.  With the recent ice storm, this just added to their long list of things to fix.

As a representative of the club, I told them there are a number of people who have offered to help offset the cost of the replacement and I'd like to include the club on that list.  Mr. Carter will get back to me when he has a better idea of what he is dealing with and that will likely be sometime this coming week.  I will pass that information along once I receive it.  If he is looking for some manual labor to help with any fixes, I will pass that info along as well.  There is a standing offer from the club to help with any upkeep of the access area outside of what is done during the annual Green River Cleanup.

WKC pays $100 each year for this privilege and I am working to make sure we are current on that obligation.  The Carter family has always been gracious and very understanding about the arrangement and the club values this relationship.  I know this access is important to the paddling community so hopefully, people will be more respectful of their property so we can continue to use it.  Any questions or comments can be directed to me, Nicole LeBlanc, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Lewis County PUD informed us, Wednesday, 7 September, that Port Blakely has closed the 200 and 300 Road lower Cispus River access points until further notice. All of PBs forest roads have been closed to the public due to Red Flag fire warnings for the Cascade foothills. Updates will be provided as status changes.

The 2012 WKC WW Class is in April this year instead of March, and the last river day for the students will be Saturday, May 5th (Cinco de Mayo).  We would like to offer a bunch of class II and II+ trips for the students who will have just graduated from the basic course.  In 2011 on the students last class day, we invited those trip leaders who were scheduled for class II/II+ trips to the last 30 minutes of class for a "meet-n-greet".  This was a big hit with the students and we found it gave them an opportunity to meet and talk with the trip leaders in a comfortable environment, instead of making cold-calls the week prior to a trip they wanted to attend.  It also allowed them to ask questions about different rivers, listen and get to know the trip leaders and get a better understanding of what is involved when attending a WKC trip.  We would like to do a "repeat" for the 2012 class ").

SO.. If you are interested in leading class II or II+ trips in May and want to support the new boaters coming out of class, pick a date and river that falls within the class II/II+ range during the month of May/June and come to the WKC WW Trip Planning Party to sign up!  You can also advise Nicole LeBlanc ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) of your date/river if you can't make it to the WW Trip Planning party.  Once you sign up and as we finalize the trip schedule the instructors for the WW class will also send an invite to the meet-n-greet on April 17th - so mark your calendars!

Removal of two dams on Washington’s Elwha River will begin no later than 2011, thanks to $54 million in federal economic recovery funds for which American Rivers advocated. The largest dam removal in the nation’s history, was originally scheduled to begin in 2012.

The funds will go toward preliminary activities necessary to prepare for dam removal, – first authorized by Congress in 1992.  The new timeline for removal of the 210-foot high Glines Canyon Dam and 108-foot high Elwha dam will provide momentum for the effort to restore Puget Sound by 2020.

“Using economic recovery dollars to restore a free-flowing Elwha River is a win-win for the river, salmon, and local communities,” said Brett Swift, Northwest regional director of American Rivers.  “The project will create jobs, restore salmon and steelhead to some of the best habitat anywhere, and create an unprecedented opportunity to study the science of river restoration.”

Removing the dams will give salmon and steelhead access to 70 miles of pristine habitat in Olympic National Park for the first time in nearly 100 years. Eighty-three percent of the Elwha River lies within the park boundary.  By 2030, hundreds of thousands of salmon and steelhead should return to the river each year, giving a significant boost to sport and commercial fishing industries and providing a key food source for endangered Puget Sound orcas.

American Rivers has advocated for the restoration of the Elwha River for years and pushed at both the state and national level for including the removal of the Elwha dams in the recovery package. American Rivers also helped secure over $6 billion in economic recovery funds for clean water, green infrastructure, and river restoration nationwide.