Floating the Boise River will look a little different this summer; a new way to back trails
Ada County officials are anticipating a fairly normal float season on the Boise River this summer as Idaho continues to move through its rebound phases during the coronavirus pandemic. However, if you’re renting tubes or using the put-in at Barber Park, expect to see some signs of our COVID-19 era.
Scott Koberg, director of Ada County Parks and Waterways, said social distancing measures will be in effect at Barber Park, the launch point for many Boise River floaters. The county contracts with the vendor that rents out tubes, rafts and other equipment at the park, and Koberg said the vendor is working on plans to keep contact to a minimum for rentals.
“We’re working through some protocols and planning and guidance in order to reduce potential locations for bottlenecks,” Koberg said in a phone interview.
The agency and vendor are still working to figure out the best social distancing practices for the shuttle that takes floaters back to Barber Park from the float endpoint at Ann Morrison Park. Koberg said they’ll also ask floaters to stagger their launches at Barber Park. But the real challenge, he said, will be the Ann Morrison takeout point, which is smaller than the Barber Park launch and often crowded as floaters try to navigate their exit. Because Ann Morrison is a Boise city park, unlike Ada County-operated Barber Park, Ada County Parks and Waterways is working with Boise Parks and Recreation to ensure social distancing.
“We will have signage promoting protocols, including encouraging only one group at a time disembarking from the river,” said Doug Holloway, director of Boise Parks and Rec, in an email detailing the city’s response. “We will also be encouraging spacing in the park while you are deflating rafts, tubes, etc.”
Otherwise, Koberg said he’s anticipating a normal float season — though he clarified that the river is always open to floaters and rafters even before the county begins its rentals, which is generally considered the “start” of the season. Generally that happens in mid-June.
Koberg warned Boiseans that the river has not yet been cleared of debris by the Boise Fire Department due to lower-than-average river flows, though that should happen in the coming weeks.
“We’ve been planning and preparing like we typically would in any other season, knowing we have some (challenges) with COVID-19,” Koberg said. “I think we feel pretty confident in the ability to move forward and plan for a close-to-typical kind of opening.”
Idaho Parks and Rec launches ‘Trail Supporter’ program
Idaho State Parks and Recreation launched its trail supporter program, meant to raise funds for non-motorized trail maintenance, on Saturday, coinciding with National Trails Day.
Idaho-shaped stickers bearing the slogan “Idaho trails supporter” are available for $10 at the agency’s online store. Funds raised through sales of the stickers will go toward maintenance projects on non-motorized trails across the state.
“With no dedicated funding source for maintenance, trails are slowly disappearing,” said Tom Helmer, Parks and Rec’s non-motorized trails manager, in a news release. “Help us spread the word that Idaho’s trails need your support.”
Help Idaho researchers tell the story of now-extinct caribou
In 2019, the last surviving Idaho caribou was airlifted out of the Selkirk Mountains and relocated to a herd in Canada. The move marked the extinction of the animals in Idaho, and they remain critically endangered elsewhere.
Two University of Idaho graduate students, Chris Lamb and Jack Kredell, are studying the impact that the caribou disappearance has had in the area. They’re asking for folks to share their stories about the caribou as part of their research. Here’s more from Lamb:
“Do you have an Idaho caribou story?
“We are a pair of University of Idaho graduate students currently at work on a project about the recent loss of North Idaho’s Selkirk Woodland Caribou herd. We will be traveling to the Selkirk Mountains and surrounding communities to gather ecological, historical, graphic and geographical data that will be incorporated into a deep map (multilayered interactive map) documenting the ecological/community response to caribou absence in the formerly designated critical caribou habitat. A key component of this project is the collection of oral history from communities surrounding this area, and we are seeking volunteers who have stories pertaining to caribou for incorporation into the project.
“If you have a story about a caribou encounter (or anything pertaining to the former Idaho Woodland Caribou herd) that you would like to share, please send e-mails to Jack Kredell (jkredell@uidaho.edu) and/or Chris Lamb (clamb@uidaho.edu).”
