The heart of our valley is the Boise River. It was drew the initial explorers and settlers to the area, an oasis in the middle of the desert. But, as always happens, rivers take years of abuse before anyone realizes it has to stop. Up until the 1960’s the shoreline around the river served as a dumping ground for trash, industrial waste, and sewage. By 1964, we finally realized that this was not a good thing and decided to do something about it. At the suggestion of a consultant, we looked toward building a “green belt” that would run next to the river and be open for public use. No longer would trucks dump cement or the zoo spray out its cages on the river’s banks.
A community effort to undo all of the damage launched in earnest and some of the land was donated to the city. It developed quickly and people loved it. They loved it, and the river so much, that in 1990 they came up with an annual summer event called the Boise River Festival. In addition to a parade down the river, there were fireworks, concerts, food and trinket stands, activities, and hot air balloons. After a few years, the city recognized that having that many people on the banks of the river to watch the parade was eroding the soil, killing the flora, and chasing off wildlife, so they moved the parade to the streets. Until its demise in 2003, the River Festival was the highlight of the summer in Boise. There was a great deal of public outcry when it was cancelled in 2004, but the parks breathed a sigh of relief. With that many consumer minded people concentrated in one area their needs trump nature’s needs.
Today, our Greenbelt is a 26 mile long biking and walking trail that connects nine parks and hundreds of people between Lucky Peak Dam south of Boise, and almost to Meridian, a town twenty minutes north of Boise. It is maintained by Parks and Recreation and now the dozens of people and groups dedicated to making it as clean as possible. Wildlife is flourishing in the river and near it and plants enjoy mostly unimpeded growth. A community organization called Watershed Watch heads to the river every April, when the water gushes at 6,600 cubic feet per second, to test pH, oxygen, bacteria, and macroinvertebrates.
In the summer, hundreds of people float and swim the river, fishermen fish for trout, exercisers jog, run, walk, or cycle the pathways. Ornithologists come to see and hear the Belted Kingfishers, Violet Green Swallows, Euraisan Wigeon, and Lewis’s Woodpeckers. Families come to picnic and to teach their children about the river, and how to take care of it, like my parents taught me. The Boise River is our life blood. Without it, there is no Boise.
When I was a kid my parents used to take me there to splash around in small eddies. As a teenager, my dad and I went on long bike rides, bonding with each other and enjoying nature. As a college student, my mom and I would walk the Greenbelt, catching up on life. Today, my husband and I live in Meridian, but I still go back to the Greenbelt every summer to take in the smells, the sights and the sounds. I feel at home here surrounded by the rush of water, the laughter of small children, the wiz of bike tires and the bird calls- The Black Capped Chickadee and the Pied billed Grebe. But most of all, I love the Northern Flicker. I hear these by the canal behind our house in the summer and every time, I am transported to summers on the Greenbelt with my family.
http://www.cityofboise.org/Departments/Parks/ParksAndFacilities/Parks/page18151.aspx
Jana,
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate the perspective you provide of "we did something." I am 41 and guessing you are younger, so neither of us was born in 1964. Yet, collectively, we as a people have to take account of what has been accepted before us in order that we move forward toward progress.
I tend to think that we had slavery, we ran the Indians from this land, we dropped the bomb, and yes, we poisoned beautiful rivers such as what you describe.
That kind of thinking, it seems to me, allows for a sense of responsibility to change. There is the idea that those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it, so that alone justifies collectivism.
If anything, the gathering of generations might help us to consider for our children and their children and so on that we can be part of something better, something wiser.
In an uneven parallel, a lot of sports fans say "we won" or "we lost" when in reality I was not wearing a Pirates uniform that day. That is a different kind of ownership, one that I think arises out of ego. Taking ownership of our planet, however, is a more noble continuum of that connectivity.
I hope that river flows joyously for your grandkids.
Peace,
Dan
This is really cool. It seems like this is Delaware's thought process for the Chesapeake Bay Watershed pollution, which is something I touched tangentially on in my post this week. It's nice to see that things have gotten better after the community rallied and decided to do something. Kudos!
ReplyDeleteYay! Your post makes me so happy! As Margaret Mead said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
ReplyDeleteWaterways are so important to all of us. This place of your childhood serves as a connection to your now...what a hopeful and positive story you share with us. Thank you!
You mentioned black-capped chickadees, we are in their company all winter...but the Flickers are just returning. Spring is definitely in the air! :)
I really appreciate just how you've personalized this issue--made me feel the cost of neglecting such major concerns by translating what is heartfelt. Nice transitioning between your topic, its history, and your own personal experience. Additionally, there is that elusive sense of place!
ReplyDeleteYour entry, along with a few others this week focusing on water, make us realize how critically important this element is, although we often take it for granted.
ReplyDeleteYou know, it's really interesting how you show that, even after rallying together to protect the river, the River Festivals themselves had negative effects on its nature. I'm glad that people were able to see that relatively quickly rather than letting it go for too long. It's unfortunate the festival no longer exists, but you show how the Greenbelt still provides the festivities on its own!
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