Dispatches: Source to Sea by SUP on California's Klamath River
https://ift.tt/3jrJF7H In an era of increasing dam removals across the country to restore rivers to their natural habitat—the tally stands at more than 1,000 so far—it’s often hard to gain a true before-and-after picture of how these cement blockades have changed their river’s environment. A trio of standup paddleboarders recently went out of their way—a long way—in a multi-year effort to find out. In early May, adventurers Spencer Lacy, Lance Ostrom and Driy Wybaczynsky headed out as the first team to SUP—self-supporting the trip with a 10-foot raft—from source to sea down 234 miles of Oregon and California’s Klamath River, which is impeded by four dams, all of which are slated for removal in the next few years. Their goal: chronicle the river in its current dammed-up state, and then return in a few years’ time to do it again once they are all removed to see the difference first-hand. “We wanted to make an environmental statement on this trip,” says Lacy, who is sponsored by Badfis...