The River Radius Podcast

Why have cases of reported bat encounters at the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon drastically increased in the last several years? What are the chances of contracting rabies from a bat encounter? How is the safety of helicopter crews wrapped up in the physical location of a bat encounter? What does the vaccination process look like? In this episode, we utilize the personal story of a river runner's bat bite in the Grand Canyon, the expert perspectives of 2 ecologists, a CDC rabies expert, and the woman who oversees Search and Rescue in the Grand Canyon to provide insight into that real bat encounter that played out in the fall of 2023.

GUESTS

Beppe Amodio 
Brandon Holton 
Anya Metcalfe 
Dr. Ryan Wallace 
Lisa Hendy

RESOURCES

Rabies surveillance in the United States during 2022 
Bat Citizen Science in the Grand Canyon
Radiolab episode on Rabies
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Patient Assistance Program
Grifols Patient Assistance Program
RX Assist

SPONSORS

River Management Society
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2025 Symposium

Denver Area Nissan Dealers
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Working as a commercial river guide is one of the best jobs, day after day on rivers, helping people enjoy rivers, seeing beauty, having fun, chasing adrenaline. Creating incredible friendships, some of which might last a lifetime. And there can be a dark layer. Sexual Harassment continues to percolate, as it does in many places, in the layers of river guide culture.  This episode goes there and learns about sexual harassment in the river guiding culture. We talk with Dr Maria Blevins, long time river guide, who has conducted research on this topic. We hear from guide warehouse and staff manager, Bryant Baker, about how he is working to eliminate sexual harassment from the company he manages. And we talk with Respect Outside and Jim Miller to gain clarity about sexual harassment definitions, when sexual harassment is assault, how and why it percolates in river guiding, and resources available for guide companies to shake free of sexual harassment. 

SPONSORS

Denver Area Nissan Dealers
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Over It Raft Covers
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promo code, free shipping: riverradius

GUESTS

Dr Maria Blevins
University of Utah
Paddling Magazine article by Dr Blevins

Bryant Baker

Jim MIller
Respect Outside
Sexual Harassment Trainings


RESOURCES

A-DASH website
Instagram
Facebook
You Tube

Strand Squared Solutions

Engage Coaching & Consulting

EEOC 
US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Harassment

GRAND CANYON RIVER DISTRACT 

Men's Journal: Rough Water: A River Guide Tells Her Side of the Story

High Country News: Grand Canyon park's 15 year failure on sexual harassment
High Country News: Grand Canyon abolishes river district in response to sexual harassment allegations

Outside Magazine: Hostile Environment
Outside Magazine: The Woman Ending Sexual Harassment at the Grand Canyon

Huffpost: Out Here, No One Can Hear You Scream

US Dept of Interior: Investigative Report of Misconduct at the Grand Canyon River District

SEXUAL HARASSMENT & ASSUALT IN ROCK CLIMBING

New York Times: Rock Climber Gets Life in Prison for Sexual Assault
Climber Convicted on all Three Counts of Sexual Assualt

Safe Outside / American Alpine Club

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American Rivers
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Free Flow Institute
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KSJD Community Radio
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GUEST

Kevin Fedarko
A WALK IN THE PARK
Order the book
Audio Book
THE EMERALD MILE

Pete McBride
While Pete is not a formal guest of these episodes, he is part of the  journey.  Here is his work from the same journey.
Book:  THE COLORADO RIVER: Chasing Water
Film:  INTO THE CANYON. TWO FRIENDS. 750 MILES

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SPONSORS

American Whitewater
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American Rivers
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NRS
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High Desert Life Outdoors
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Free Flow Institute
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KSJD Community Radio
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GUEST

Kevin Fedarko
A WALK IN THE PARK
Order the book
Audio Book
THE EMERALD MILE

Pete McBride
While Pete is not a formal guest of these episodes, he is part of the  journey.  Here is his work from the same journey.
Book:  THE COLORADO RIVER: Chasing Water
Film:  INTO THE CANYON. TWO FRIENDS. 750 MILES

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As snow is melting and running down rivers across the US, this episode talks with hydrologists at 5 regions of the National River Forecast Center to gain perspectives on how much snow and rain fell over the winter and how it will melt and what the rivers will look like this spring and summer.  We focus on the Northeast, Southeast, Northwest, California, some of Nevada, and the Colorado River Basin. 

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ROCKY TALKIE
5 Watt Radio, Waterproof
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PADDLE WAYS
Download the Paddle Ways app on your phone, then go to the Paddle Ways website with discount link here and subscribe there to gain the discount
Use Discount Code 25% off: RADIUS
Paddle Ways Instagram
 

NRS
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GUESTS

National River Forecast Center

Northeast River Forecast Center, NERFC
Ron Horwood

Southeast River Forecast Center, SERFC
Todd Hamill

California Nevada River Forecast Center, CNRFC
Brett Whitin

Northwest River Forecast Center, NWRFC
Amy Burke

Colorado Basin River Forecast Center, CBRFC
Ashley Nielson

PREVIOUS EPISODE
2023 Western Snowpack & River Flow

THUMBNAIL PIC
Taylor from Walker Knives

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Dams have been blocking rivers for decades. Is there a growing crack in the dam? This episode explores dam removal as an increasing trend.  We talk with guests at the Chattooga River and Tugalo Dam, the Snake River and the Lower Snake River Dams, and the Klamath River and the active removal project there.  And we look at the trends globally for dam construction and removal.  

SPONSORS
Paddle Ways
Download the Paddle Ways app on your phone, then go to the Paddle Ways website with discount link here and subscribe there to gain the discount
Use Discount Code 25% off: RADIUS
Paddle Ways Instagram

NRS
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Denver Area Nissan Dealers
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GUESTS
Chattooga Conservancy
Nicole Hayler
Chattooga River

Grand Salmon Project
Libby Tobey
Snake River

Klamath River Renewal Corporation
Ren Brownell
Klamath River

International Rivers
Josh Klemm

PREVIOUS EPISODES ON SAME TOPICS

Klamath 1: The Origins of Paddle Tribal Waters
Klamath 2: The Next Generation of Paddle Tribal Waters

Salmon 1: Mountain Origins
Salmon 2: Big Dam Problems & Solutions
Salmon 3: Fighting Salmon Extinction Real Time

THUMBNAIL PIC
Copco 2 Dam deconstruction on Klamath River, June 2023
Credit: Shane Anderson, Swiftwater Films
 

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Each year American Rivers publishes a list of 10 rivers that hold great opportunity for river quality improvements. This year, in addition to covering the full list with Amy Kober of American Rivers, we talk with local experts to include the ocean surfers at the Tijuana River estuary in California, the river lovers at the Duck River in Tennessee, and the high desert river people overseeing the entire state of New Mexico. We hear about the unique rivers and the work happening to care for these places.

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ROCKY TALKIE
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Discount Code 10% off:  RIVERRADIUS10
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GUESTS

American Rivers
2024 Most Endangered Rivers Report
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Tijuana River
Un Mar de Colores
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Ramon Chairez (no socials)

Rivers of New Mexico
Amigos Bravos
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Rachel Conn
@rlconn

Duck River
Harpeth Conservancy
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Grace Stranch
@birdhandgrace

PREVIOUS RIVER RADIUS EPISODES ON AMERICAN RIVERS 10 MOST ENDANGERED LIST

10 Rivers for 2023

10 Rivers for 2022
 

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SPONSORS

Down River Equipment
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AED One Stop Shop discount landing page
 

GUESTS

John Amodio
Facebook
Linkedin: John Amodio
 

Kevin Fedarko
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Vicki Ozaki 

Leonel Arguello

Dave Van De Mark

CONTRIBUTING HOST
Samara Rosen

RESOURCES

Navigating Ecological Transformation: Resist–Accept–Direct as a Path to a New Resource Management Paradigm

Sierra Club Oral History Project: John Amodio

More Than Luck - Vicki Oazaki, Kin to the Earth

Redwood National Park Expansion, Woodstock, Earth Day, and the Kent State Massacre 

Coming Full Circle: How Parks Are Using Conventional Tools in New Ways to Restore Imperiled Forests

WILDERNESS & WILDLIFE: Leonel Arguello

The Emerald Mile

Martin Litton

Local Photography Legend Who Helped Establish Redwood National and State Parks Sets Out to Complete His Life’s Work

Activist and photographer Dave Van de Mark treks to the upper reaches of Redwood Creek to document how its conservation has impacted its ecological condition

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Kevin Fedarko’s book, the Emerald Mile, takes readers on the journey of the fastest ride through the Grand Canyon in a dory named the Emerald Mile. Fedarko’s book dives into the backstory of the dam, the characters, and even the record-breaking journey, and yet leaves one question remaining: what is the backstory of the dory’s namesake? In this 1st of 2 Emerald Mile episodes, the stories of Fedarko and Dave Van De Mark demonstrate the impact that words and imagery make when applied to places like the Emerald Mile in California’s Redwood National and State Parks.

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Down River Raftopia April 6
Down River Equipment
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Rocky Talkie
5 Watt Radio, Waterproof
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GUESTS

Kevin Fedarko
Instagram
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Dave Van De Mark

Vicki Ozaki

Leonel Arguello

RESOURCES

The Emerald Mile

Outside Magazine Kevin Fedarko Archives

When & How The Emerald Mile Came To Be A Critical Part of the Original Redwood National Park

Local Photography Legend Who Helped Establish Redwood National and State Parks Sets Out to Complete His Life’s Work

Activist and photographer DaveVandeMark treks to the upper reaches of Redwood Creek to  document how its conservation has impacted its ecological condition

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Atmospheric Rivers are bands of water vapor in the sky, sometimes a few thousand miles long, bringing winter moisture to the west coast of North America and delivering it all the way to the Rocky Mountains. The Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes flies research planes above these storms all winter tracking the details and forecasting the coming storm and this episode hosts their director to learn about Atmospheric Rivers.  

SPONSORS

Down River Equipment
Raftopia 2024 Sales Event
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Denver Area Nissan Dealers
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GUESTS

Marty Ralph
Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
University of California San Diego

AR short video (great graphic diagram)

Thumbnail pic credit:  Scripps Institute of Oceanography, Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes

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