IRU 2021 Awards: Celebrating outstanding supporters that further IRU's work & mission
Each year, IRU’s annual awards recognize outstanding members, supporters, businesses, and partners that further IRU’s mission and work. We are excited to present to you the 2021 award recipients!
Member of the Year: Alan Hamilton
It is an honor to announce Alan Hamilton as our member of the year. Alan has been a dedicated Idaho Rivers United member for more than twenty years and also was an active IRU board member for many of those years. Alan retired from AIRE boats after being a leader in cataract design from the late 80’s, and is still an avid boater and river protector. In his most recent conservation efforts, Alan has stepped in as a community leader to protect the South Fork Salmon River, his notable dedication supports IRU’s and several other organizations work to protect this precious river and the raw, wild river and wilderness it provides. Board Director Steve Jones is proud to have his fellow boater friend selected this year, not only from their longtime friendship but reports “if ever there is an amazing river runner, he (Alan) is one for the Idaho history books – his skill and river wit make him the best person to be on the water with.” You can catch up with Alan running anyone of Idaho’s amazing rivers.
Business Partner of the Year: Idaho River Sports
When selecting our business partner of the year, we look at businesses who go above and beyond with IRU event promotion, hosting educational trainings, generous annual donations, volunteer support, shares our work, advocates for the future of Idaho’s rivers, or is a product or perk partner. Idaho River Sports does all of this and so much more.
Idaho River Sports owners and staff have jumped into any advocacy campaign that we share with them. They host and join in on every Boise River Clean Up. They consistently donate awesome river gear to our annual Auction for the Rivers. This past summer Idaho Rivers Sports facilitated an inclusive stand-up paddleboard program, which was created with Idaho Rivers United and Inclusive Idaho to build outdoor river programs that could reduce the barriers for underrepresented groups to participate in outdoor activities. IRS provided gear, instruction, and gifts for participants!
We are thrilled to present Idaho River Sports with the Business Partner of the Year Award. IRS has built a recognizable and profitable business around Boise but has an enormous heart that creates community and kinship beyond most businesses.
Water Protection Advocate: Mary Faurot Petterson
Mary Faurot Petterson is our 2021 Water Protection Advocate of the Year for her work to protect the fish and water quality (and everything connected to those) in the South Fork Salmon River watershed. With over 30 years of experience in natural resources management and a background as a fisheries biologist and project manager with Boise and Payette National Forests, Mary has extensive experience working with salmonids in the South Fork Salmon River basin. In addition, she worked on habitat restoration on Meadow Creek, where Perpetua Resources Inc (formerly Midas Gold Inc) has submitted a plan to extract gold through open-pit mining and permanently store over 450 million tons of contaminated materials. Mary is an IRU member and a board member of Save the South Fork Salmon, the small but mighty team of volunteers that formed a grassroots organization to protect the South Fork Salmon River from the risks and impacts of open-pit mining. In 2021, Mary was an outstanding leader and collaborator to ensure that the rivers, fish, and people dependent on them (notably the Nez Perce Tribe) have a voice.
Conservation Partner of the Year: EcoFlight
EcoFlight will be awarded as our 2021 Conservation Partner of the Year for flying IRU staff and important stakeholders over threatened landscapes and rivers that are core to our work. EcoFlight’s mission is to “educate and advocate for the protection of remaining wild lands and wild habitat using aircraft” to inspire stewardship. Bruce Gordon (President, Founder, and Pilot), Jane Pargiter (Executive Director), and their team at EcoFlight flew us over the South Fork Salmon River watershed, threatened by the Stibnite Gold Project, to get an aerial perspective of the proposed project’s scale, and the rivers and landscapes at risk. EcoFlight also flew IRU and partners over the Wild and Scenic Rivers of the Owyhee Canyonlands and the Jarbidge-Bruneau Rivers to get eyes on mining-related impacts and threats, and the landscape that would be impacted by a proposal to lower the Air Force training altitudes to levels that could be harmful to wildlife and recreation. Michael Gorman, EcoFlight’s Program Coordinator, worked with their video production team to create informational videos with stunning footage taken during the flights, which were critical to our outreach efforts and calls to action.
Salmon Advocate of the Year: Congressman Mike Simpson & Lindsay Slater
Selecting Congressman Mike Simpson and his Chief of Staff, Lindsay Slater, as our Salmon Advocates of the Year was an easy choice due to their strong leadership and tireless efforts in seeking to recover Idaho’s wild salmon. In February, the Congressman announced his Columbia Basin Initiative (CBI), an innovative framework that seeks to restore the Lower Snake River via dam breaching and invest in infrastructure, fish and wildlife recovery, clean energy, and communities throughout the Northwest. Endangered Snake River salmon and steelhead populations are in dire condition and desperately need scientifically-driven recovery action that is centered around dam breaching. Mike and Lindsay have taken up the mantle as the region’s strongest wild salmon advocates. The release of their CBI has pushed the regional conversation forward, injecting new hope and action to an issue that has been crying out for a comprehensive solution. IRU worked closely with Simpson’s office over the course of the rollout of the CBI. We emphasized the need for this type of decisive Congressional salmon recovery action in meetings with regional and federal decision makers and publicized the benefits of his plan throughout 2021. We look forward to continuing to work together with the Simpson office and achieve a big win for our wild salmon and steelhead in the coming year.