Press Release October 2009 [14kb]

Need an excuse to go boating on the Pend Oreille River this fall?
Water trail organizers are looking for volunteers willing to travel a portion of the river and complete several simple inventory forms documenting what they find. Each volunteer crew will visit up to five public access sites, and describe and photograph related water and shoreline attractions.
This inventory process will help develop a Pend Oreille River Water Trail through the information and suggestions collected.
A water trail is an annotated map of boating routes showing locations of amenities and providing information about natural features and attractions. A diverse partnership of local entities, governments, volunteers and agencies are working with PORTA and the WSU Extension Office on this project to encourage economic benefits through tourism and to promote recreational practices that respect water quality and fish habitat.
PORTA recently was awarded grant funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation in partnership with the Salmon Recovery Funding Board to proceed with water trail development. Sites will be inventoried this fall during low flow conditions as a preliminary step, and inventoried again next spring or summer when water levels are higher.
Volunteers interested in participating in the inventory project may contact Carol Mack at WSU/Pend Oreille County Extension (509 447-2401, cmack@wsu.edu ) or Susan Harris of PORTA (447-5286, susan@porta-us.com ).