Whenever someone asks what I do for work, I usually mention that part of my job entails a fair amount of “river time”, which often elicits comments like – “you get paid to float? How lucky are you?” I suppose the natural response is to downplay it, but I do realize how fortunate I am to be able to see our local streams up close, as well as the hard work it takes to keep our Ozarks waters clear and clean.
Recently the James River Basin Partnership and 37 North Expeditions came together to offer a series of seven floats on the James River in 2021, from “Lake (Springfield) to Lake (Table Rock)”. Attendees will get to experience the James in a similar way we do, with 37 North handling all the logistics, and JRBP providing subject matter experts to talk about everything from the skill of “reading a river” to a history of float trips in the Ozarks. The float series is part of a larger ecotourism program we’re rolling out at JRBP to get more folks to “connect with what they protect”.
If you’re not familiar with 37 North, the outdoor adventure company was started back in 2017 by Danny Collins, a native of the Ozarks who worked as an expedition manager for a National Geographic lodge in Ecuador. Collins had also been an adventure guide on the side while working in New York City and returned to the Ozarks where being in nature was a respite from the stresses of the everyday world. Collins started 37 North for folks who were “living their entire lives here in our area and never really getting out and seeing all that it has to offer.”
Collins encourages his customers to get sweaty, connected, and happy. It’s the “get connected” part in particular that makes this such a great partnership with a conservation non-profit like JRBP, and our mantra of connecting with what you protect. Folks have had a connection to the beauty of the Ozarks from the beginning. It was a form of ecotourism that brought hunters and anglers here from places like St. Louis and Chicago in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and continues to bring folks in from around the country and the world.
Our first float in the series was a short one along the James River Water Trail from Joe Crighton Access to Southwood Access on Lake Springfield. It’s easy to forget how close the urban sprawl of Springfield is to the James once your underway and floating past sycamores and gravel bars. Since no outfitters put in on this stretch, it’s not uncommon to come across strainers and rootwads, making river reading skills a must. It’s also the stretch of river that JRBP cleans as part of its annual Earth Day cleanup every April 22. This year, over 50 volunteers removed hundreds of pounds of trash from along the riverbanks and the shoreline of Lake Springfield.
Besides 37 North’s float series, JRBP staff will also be taking Springfield city employees on water-quality themed floats in May & June along the stretch to explain the impact of stormwater runoff and non-point source pollution on the James and other area waterways. Pollutants such as pet waste, pesticides, and nutrients from lawns, oil, and brake dust from roadways and sediment are carried by runoff via storm drains into local rivers and creeks. JRBP regularly partners with local municipal and county governments to help educate the community on best management practices to actively reduce pollutants and protect our waters.
The first chief hydrologist of the US Geological Survey, Luna Leopold (and the son of the noted conservationist Aldo Leopold) once opined that “The health of our waters is the principal measure of how we live on the land.” By partnering with local governments and businesses like 37 North, JRBP is helping more folks understand the strong connection between land and water in the hills and hollers of the Ozarks.
We’ll see you on the river.
Todd
