Feather Festival Great Success
Posted: 09/04/2006
By: Dave Steindorf
The Feather River Festival was event a great success, due to the large numbers of paddlers that
showed up despite only having one day of flow. Our hats are off to the Chico Paddleheads and
AW volunteers that made this event happen! Over forty people showed for the film festival on Friday
night. The offerings included video and pictures from Ben Stookkesbury, Taylor Robertson,
Chuck Lees, Eric Petlock and Dave Steindorf. In addition to the visual pleasures of the
evening Dennis Smith from the U.S. Forrest Service was in attendance to discuss the reasons for the
flow cancellation on Cresta reach of the Feather River. Not only did he field questions from
boaters and concerned spectators, he also articulated the Forrest Services’ commitment to
providing whitewater opportunities on the Feather.
Saturday’s slalom race was also well attended. Chico Paddlehead, Roland McNutt and Gold Country Paddler Keith Kishiama, put together a fantastic course for both first time racers, along with experts with those fancy composite boats. Participants ranged in age from 9 to 63 years old. An impromptu down river race through the class V, Tobin section, brought out some paddling big guns, Dustin Knapp, Scott Lindgren, Ben Stooksbury, Taylor Robertson to name a few. All agreed that time event has big potential for the future.
Discussions concerning why the Cresta release had been canceled were common throughout the weekend. Most were concerned that boaters were being asked to bare the brunt of protecting frogs on the Feather, when damage to the tadpole populations this spring were likely due to project. Further, many were skeptical that releases could impact tadpoles that had already morphed into frogs. We were also asking boaters to right letters to the Plumas National Forrest Supervisor, the Butte or Plumas County Supervisors, to ask these kind of questions and express their concerns about the loss of their boating opportunities on the Feather. For sample letters please email dave@amwhitewater.org. Your voice is important!
Saturday’s slalom race was also well attended. Chico Paddlehead, Roland McNutt and Gold Country Paddler Keith Kishiama, put together a fantastic course for both first time racers, along with experts with those fancy composite boats. Participants ranged in age from 9 to 63 years old. An impromptu down river race through the class V, Tobin section, brought out some paddling big guns, Dustin Knapp, Scott Lindgren, Ben Stooksbury, Taylor Robertson to name a few. All agreed that time event has big potential for the future.
Discussions concerning why the Cresta release had been canceled were common throughout the weekend. Most were concerned that boaters were being asked to bare the brunt of protecting frogs on the Feather, when damage to the tadpole populations this spring were likely due to project. Further, many were skeptical that releases could impact tadpoles that had already morphed into frogs. We were also asking boaters to right letters to the Plumas National Forrest Supervisor, the Butte or Plumas County Supervisors, to ask these kind of questions and express their concerns about the loss of their boating opportunities on the Feather. For sample letters please email dave@amwhitewater.org. Your voice is important!
Dave Steindorf
4 Baroni Drive
Chico, CA 95928
E-mail: dave@americanwhitewater.org
Phone: 530-343-1871
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