Clark Fork Coalition Board Member Will Float Entire Clark Fork River, Joined by Montana Politicians

(Missoula, MT) - The Clark Fork Coalition will send a member of its board of directors on a 20-day journey down the entire length of the Clark Fork River to highlight recent, watershed-wide restora

(Missoula, MT)  -  The Clark Fork Coalition will send a member of its board of directors on a 20-day journey down the entire length of the Clark Fork River to highlight recent, watershed-wide restoration efforts.  A number of prominent Montana politicians and community members will join the float along the way.  This floating adventure—called The Clark Fork 320—officially begins June 27, 2009 near Butte at Racetrack Creek’s confluence with the Clark Fork, and ends 320 river miles downstream at Lake Pend Oreille in Idaho in mid-July. 

Paul Babb, CEO of Butte-Silver Bow County, and Hal Harper, Chief Policy Advisor to Governor, will fish and float with the Clark Fork 320 on June 29^th. Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, Attorney General Steve Bullock, and Missoula Mayor John Engen, will join hundreds of floating community members as the Clark Fork 320 passes through Missoula on July 3^rd.   This community event will celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Milltown dam removal, culminating in the “One River. One Voice.” celebration at downtown Missoula’s Caras Park on the afternoon of July 3^rd. Senators Jon Tester and Max Baucus and members of their staff have also been invited to participate in sections of the float.

 “This is an opportunity to show the world what can happen when people come together to speak up on behalf of a river,” said Clark Fork Coalition board member, Daniel Kiely.  “It ran red with pollution in the ’70s, and today—thanks to a lot of hard work by folks living upriver and down—the Clark Fork is coming back.”

The idea for this awareness-building float originated last spring when members of the Coalition’s board and staff gathered to watch the historic breaching of Milltown Dam—a key component of a massive Superfund cleanup that the group had been advancing and rallying community support behind for years. According to the Coalition’s executive director Karen Knudsen, Milltown dam removal was only one step in a globally-significant watershed-wide recovery. Between federal Superfund site cleanups in the upper Clark Fork, at Milltown, and at Mike Horse Mine in the upper Blackfoot River, upgrades at many municipal wastewater treatment plants, and fish mitigation programs at hydroelectric dams, over one billion dollars will be invested in large-scale restoration efforts in the Clark Fork watershed this decade. 

By putting Kiely on the river for the Clark Fork 320, The Clark Fork Coalition hopes to “build on the dam removal excitement, and leverage the upcoming restoration efforts beyond the river’s banks” to include an economic boost for the people and local communities along the river. The Clark Fork 320 will include two opportunities for citizens and community members to join Daniel on flotillas:

·        Friday July 3^rd: Milltown to Missoula community float, culminating in the “One River. One Voice.” celebration at Caras Park.

·        Tuesday July 7^th: Alberton Gorge, a stunning section of Class III whitewater for experienced kayakers and rafters.

Individuals and businesses will also have the chance to participate through a range of sponsorship opportunities designed to help residents promote recovery and restoration of the watershed.  For more information on the details of the float and ways to participate, visit the website at www.clarkfork.org/320 or contact the Coalition at 406/542.0539

 

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