Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Conservation group salutes ‘river heroes’

IRU celebrates 20th anniversary

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By KATHERINE WUTZ
Express Staff Writer

The nonprofit group Idaho Rivers United honored six conservation-minded Idahoans at its 20th anniversary celebration Friday, July 9, in Boise.

"This is not a sprint," said IRU Boise River Campaign Coordinator Liz Paul, who has been with the organization from its early years. "It's not one campaign. It's not one issue or one river. Twenty years ago, we launched an organization for the ages."

State Sen. Clint Stennett, D-Ketchum, who represented the Wood River Valley, was saluted for his sponsorship of several pieces of conservation legislation.

Stennett co-sponsored the Wood River Legacy Project, a modification of Idaho water law that allows people along the Big Wood River to donate water rights for the benefit of the river and its fish.

Stanley residents Doug and Ann Christensen, who have worked to recover Idaho's wild salmon and steelhead, were also honored. The Christensens were active in the founding of Idaho Rivers United. They own a ranch west of Stanley, near spawning grounds for threatened chinook salmon.

Other honorees included Scott and Mary Lou Reed, founding members of Idaho Rivers United and the nonprofit Idaho Conservation League. The couple also founded the Kootenai Environmental Alliance, Idaho's oldest continuously operating conservation group, in 1972.

Reed Burkholder, a salmon and steelhead advocate, also received an award.

Katherine Wutz: kwutz@mtexpress.com

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