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Friends of the Jump River saluted as "River Champions"
THE-BEE
Last Updated: Thursday, March 31st, 2005 09:53:04 AM
submitted photo
"River
Champion Award": The River Alliance gives an annual "River Champion
Award", and this year it was awarded to the Friends of the Jump River.
Melissa Scanlan, River Alliance Board of Directors, presents the award
to (from left) Gary Edinger and Leanne Edinger of Kennan; and Kathy
Maurer and Gordy Ruesch of Medford.
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Friends of the Jump River, a volunteer river and watershed protection
group whose members live in Price, Taylor and Rusk counties, were
recognized this month as "River Champions" by the River Alliance of
Wisconsin, a nonprofit river conservation group.
Every year, the River Alliance honors local watershed groups and
individuals from the public and private sector for their work to
protect and preserve the quality of the state's rivers.
In the case of the Jump River, which starts in Price County and
flows its way south and west to join the Chippewa River near Sheldon,
the group has actively advocated for careful protection of the Jump,
sections of which are considered "exceptional resource waters" because
of its high-quality fishery.
"We admire the commitment of people like the Friends of the Jump
River to make sure the waters that they call home remain free and
clean," says Denny Caneff, executive director of the River Alliance.
"The Friends bravely took on the question of how rivers are classified
and who can do what with them," he said, "and that legal battle is part
of why we wanted to recognize the group as River Champions."
But it is also their steadfast commitment to careful land use along the river that is worthy of recognition, said Caneff.
"What happens in the watershed will end up in the river, and the
Friends of the Jump have shown themselves to be ‘big thinkers' in that
regard. We commend their steadfastness, and we know a lot of other
watershed groups around the state admire that in the group."
"The river didn't have a voice of its own," explains Dan Haupert,
a founder and current president of the group. "We watched people with
no interest in the river making decisions about it, and someone had to
stand up for the river or we'd lose what we appreciate about it. We've
lost some things, but there have been victories, too," Haupert says.
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