Free the Snake Flotilla to draw hundreds to lower Snake River Sept. 7 and 8
Fourth annual Free the Snake Flotilla
Friday-Saturday, Sept. 7-8,
Chief Timothy Park near Clarkston, Wash.
Please help us spread the word to your networks on Facebook.
To register: freethesnake.com.
Now in its fourth year, the Free the Snake Flotilla has become a popular fall event for people from around the Pacific Northwest.
Last year more than 400 people gathered on the water to raise their collective voices in support of restoring a free-flowing lower Snake River and protecting its endangered wild salmon and steelhead from extinction. This year, salmon and orca advocates, tribal members and treaty rights advocates, anglers and river supporters will gather again to Free the Snake. Join us Sept. 7-8 for a weekend of outdoor activities, food, music, and education.
This year, we are also honored to host a very special guest: Winona LaDuke, founder of Honor the Earth.
Snake River salmon remain in peril. Anti-salmon elected leaders are pushing legislation in Congress that would roll back critical salmon protections and make it illegal for federal agencies to even study the costs, benefits and trade-offs of restoring this river by removing its four high-cost, low-value dams. While salmon runs continue to decline, the Puget Sound's Resident orcas are starving--and dying--due to a lack of sufficient salmon to eat.
Meanwhile, the benefits of these four deadbeat dams on the lower Snake River continue to decline. Feasible and affordable energy and transportation alternatives continue to grow, and the public demand for action on the Snake River gets louder every day. It's past time that our Northwest elected leaders step up for these irreplaceable and iconic Northwest species at risk of extinction.
As in years past, camping is available at Chief Timothy Park, an island on the lower Snake River near Clarkston, Wash. Campsites are available for Friday and Saturday nights on a first-come basis. There will be plenty of room: more than 50 RV sites and plenty of tent camping. We have reserved the entire facility for both nights.
Join us Friday for small guided paddles around Chief Timothy, field trips, and educational talks. We'll have food and special musical guests on Friday night, including native hip-hop artist Nataanii Means.
Saturday will be the main event, the Free the Snake Flotilla. This year, a contingent of traditional tribal canoes will begin their paddle in the morning a few miles upstream on the Clearwater River, joining the flotilla of kayaks, canoes, rafts and motor boats on the lower Snake River for a ceremony and rally in the early afternoon. Participants will then gather for food and the keynote event featuring the internationally respected Indigenous activist Winona LaDuke.
Event sponsors include Save Our wild Salmon, Nimiipuu Protecting the Environment, Friends of the Clearwater, Sierra Club, Wild Steelhead Coalition, Eco Depot, Earth Ministry, Idaho Rivers United, Mountain Gear, RoastHouse Coffee, Pacific Rivers, Greater Hells Canyon Council, ROW Adventures, Spokane Riverkeeper and many other groups and businesses.
For further details, updated announcements and to register, visit freethesnake.com.