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August, 2006
Report on the Union River Salmon Run
By Travis Hussey Coordinator of the Union River Watershed Coalition
The URWC successfully hosted the 2006 Salmon Run, a canoe & kayak race on the Union River's main stem, from the Graham Lake Dam down to the Ellsworth Marina. An amazing 41 paddlers registered for the June 24th race, many of whom entered for the race's founder, Ron Muir, who made an appearance at the finish line. Proceeds from the race will be used to organize or improve other Watershed Coalition public events and activities.
Special thanks are due to all the assistants, safety boaters, and other volunteers who helped pull off the race: Tammy & Bill Kelley, Clayton Cole, Bob Hessler, Sue McClatchy, Paul Szauter, George Jennings, Dave Davis, Kyle Duckworth, Peter Rappaport, Ken Cline, Dave Gillespie, Corey Graham, Lily-Anne Deighan, and Paula Cole.
As for race stories, the most memorable bits for me were seeing people watching the race from shore (see our website calendar's writeup, at www.unionriver.org, which includes full results and reference to folks all dressed up standing out on rocks in the river to watch the race), experiencing Ellsworth from such a new and connected viewpoint, noticing the wildlife (bald eagle, osprey, etc), making note of all the other river users like commercial fishermen, bank striper fishermen, a riverside restaurant, picnickers, etc. Everything gave me warm fuzzies, I guess!
Connecting with all the die-hard boaters was also a treat. Other little details: The "war canoe" had three teenage boys in it, and they dumped a couple of times to give our safety boaters some business. Then as I came through as the sweep boat, one of the safety kayakers had to be rescued! A Jr/Sr team called up before the race because the guy's son is still a few months too young to paddle in ACA races, so they got to get out on the water together. I also got invited to visit Ron Muir after the race at their house in Trenton, which was another memorable treat.
You paddlers are definitely a friendly, dedicated, caring group of people! I'm glad I was able to organize the race for all the participants this year, and hope it becomes an annual event!
Email nick [at] noumbrella [dot] com with your questions, comments and concerns.
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