Celebrating “World Rivers Day” by highlighting the SF Salmon
Boaters flock to the South Fork of the Salmon every season as one of the most pristine and exciting river corridors in the West. Photo credit IRU staff
Millions of people in over 100 countries on six continents will join together on this upcoming fourth Sunday of September every year to celebrate and participate in World Rivers Day. This year’s celebration is on September 25th.
According to the website, “World Rivers Day is a celebration of the world’s waterways. It highlights the many values of rivers and strives to increase public awareness and encourages the improved stewardship of rivers around the world.”
Events will take place all over the globe ranging from dam removal momentum, clean water act protection, and small and large scale river clean-ups. See the full list of events here.
Although in our office, every day is a river day, we are excited to highlight the South Fork of the Salmon River and why it’s so special to our state, region, and the native fish species who call it home.
Our own conservation associate who focuses on Stibnite Mine via Perpetua Resources, Nick Kunath, reflects on this special place: “Places like the South Fork are finite and we are losing more of them every year. I have heard the argument that this area is not pristine and already bears the scars of previous exploits. While that may be true, that argument ignores the fact that while Midas claims that they will leave the area better than when they found it, the risks far outweigh the potential benefits to this area. There aren't many places like the South Fork drainage left and we owe it to ourselves to preserve this area for perpetuity.”
You can read more testimonials in our series, “People of the South Fork” here. Our partners at Backbone Campaign have also organized a way to get involved in bannering on overpasses in the Northwest region to advocate for free-flowing Snake River and dam removal. Learn more about how to participate here.
Please share your photos or experience by tagging #WorldRiversDay and #idahoriversunited on social media platforms.
A cutthroat trout in the South Fork of the Salmon River. Photo credit: Graham Cawley
