Buck Island and Lower Mississippi River Fishing & Boating Trail Featured in Canoe & Kayak Magazine
National Paddling Magazine Explores “Freshwater Goldmine for Paddlers"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 22, 2011
WASHINGTON, DC: Canoe & Kayak magazine, one of the nation’s largest and most well known paddling publications, has featured American Land Conservancy’s Buck Island project and the Lower Mississippi River Water Trail in its March, 2011 cover story, “Mississippi Crossroads.”
Calling the lower river a “freshwater goldmine for paddlers,” Canoe & Kayak associate editor Dave Shively and photographer Robert Zaleski explored 100 miles of the lower Mississippi, outlining the route of is soon to become the Lower Mississippi River Water Trail. They were guided by ALC partner, John Ruskey of Quapaw Canoe Company in Helena, Arkansas, a long-time advocate of the river and conservation of Buck Island. Accompanying Ruskey and the Canoe & Kayak staff were Ruskey’s apprentice, Charles Wright, ALC government affairs director Tim Richardson, and former Arkansas state senator Kevin Smith.
The cover story and accompanying web feature on the Canoe & Kayak website (including a video and photo essay) chronicle the 100-mile adventure, which begins with a campout on Buck Island. The article also discusses the efforts of ALC and its agency and conservation partners to conserve the island and the ecological resources of the Mississippi and expand recreational use of the river.
“That which is used is valued,” said ALC’s Tim Richardson. “But there are currently a lot of obstacles confronting anyone trying to experience America’s greatest river, which in the lower portion has almost no public access. Canoe & Kayak beautifully describes the wildness and wonder of the lower river, but we need Buck Island and more places like it to make it accessible to paddlers and others.”
Richardson is part of an ALC partnership with the Lower Mississippi River Conservation Committee to create a Lower Mississippi River Fishing and Boating Trail by restoring and conserving public access points along the lower river. Buck Island will soon be the critical anchor and launching point for the trail. The island is owned by ALC, but a public access easement will be established through the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission. In addition, 880 acres of native timber are protected on the island through a conservation agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service as part of its Flood Plain Easement Program. ALC is currently working to convey the island to public ownership.
“Conserving Buck Island is not only good for recreation on the river, it’s very important for wildlife as well,” said Jenny Frazier, director of ALC’s Mississippi River Program. “The island is home to many species, including Arkansas’ largest Mississippi River nesting colony of endangered least terns. Paddlers and other outdoor enthusiasts can help us protect the river’s incredible resources by experiencing it firsthand and becoming advocates for its conservation.”
Canoe & Kayak Magazine reaches more than 200,000 readers nationwide. The “Mississippi Crossroads” article, accompanying video feature, and slide show can be viewed on ALC’s website, www.alcnet.org. For more information about ALC’s Buck Island Project and the Lower Mississippi River Water Trail see www.alcnet.org/support/buck.
Contact:
Tim Richardson, Government Affairs Director
American Land Conservancy
p) 573-866-9989
jenny@alcnet.org
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American Land Conservancy is a non-profit land conservation organization that conserves land for the benefit of people and wildlife. Since 1990 ALC has conserved more than 256,000 acres of land and water resources, working farms and ranches, and wildlife habitat, nationwide. ALC has worked along the Mississippi River since the Great Flood of 1993, protecting 25,000 acres of critical habitat while helping to maintain the commercial viability of the river and supporting nature-based economic development in riverside communities. For more information on ALC see www.alcnet.org.
