News Release
Think Out Loud Productions
News Release Date: October 3, 2017
Contact: Elizabeth Stern, 202-230-2974
WASHINGTON – This week, federal agencies and non-profit river partners released the next video in the #FindYourWay series to celebrate the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and National Trails System Act on October 2, 2018. #FindYourWay invites visitors from all backgrounds to explore America’s rivers and trails.
The #FindYourWay, #MakeYourSplash video follows a family as they paddle, fish, and play in the Lower American Wild and Scenic River, where family time and outdoor time are one in the same. As the mother in the video says, “Being together as a family outside really helps us be closer together.”
“More than 30 rivers in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System are also part of the National Park System,” said NPS Acting Director Michael Reynolds. “Whether it’s the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway in Wisconsin and Minnesota, Bluestone National Scenic River in West Virginia, or any of the other 208 rivers in the Wild and Scenic Rivers System, our rivers offer opportunities not only for fun, but inspiration, solace, and renewal. The coming 50th anniversary of the Wild & Scenic Rivers is a great time to pick up your paddle or fishing rod to #MakeYourSplash on a river near you.”
Rivers embody many values, intrinsic and tangible. Wild and Scenic Rivers provide water for fish and wildlife, preserve history and culture, create public recreation and economic prosperity, and maintain floodplains for communities.
Visit the Wild and Scenic Rivers 50th Anniversary event map and 50th anniversary toolkit to discover events near you and host an event on a local river in your community.
About the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
Two pivotal laws, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and the National Trails System Act, were signed in 1968, creating national systems of protected rivers and trails that brought public lands to the forefront of American consciousness. Our nation’s Wild and Scenic Rivers include rivers flowing through primitive, unspoiled landscapes with few people, to those meandering across rural landscapes, small towns, and near big cities.
Free-flowing rivers create natural riparian areas that foster healthy, abundant, and diverse wildlife and are the centerpieces of rich ecological processes. Recreationally, free-flowing rivers offer unparalleled inspirational experiences from challenging whitewater to placid fishing. Through the arterial connections of rivers to communities, we all live downstream of a Wild and Scenic River.
About the 50th Anniversary Partners
The river and trail communities commemorating the 50th anniversary of their establishment include federal government and non-profit partners. Federal agency partners include the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Army Corps of Engineers. Non-profit partners American Rivers, American Whitewater, River Management Society and River Network join the federal agencies to build community around rivers in 2018. Trails nonprofit partners include American Hiking Society, American Trails, the Partnership for the National Trails System, and the Rails to Trails Conservancy.
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Last updated: October 3, 2017