Amidst a flourish of media about Paddle Tribal Waters, a new film has published from Oregon Public Broadcasting & Jessie Sears, giving focus to the 2025 source to sea run completed by the indigenous teens of PTW. The film, “First Descent: Kayaking the Klamath”, is there to meet the paddlers at the Pacific Ocean when they complete their journey, is with them along the river and the film also engages with the families of the paddlers to hear their perceptions of their kid’s work and pursuits. And finally, the film’s producer, Jessie Sears, is a member of the Karuk Tribe from the Klamath River basin, and by creating this film, she is exploring her own connections with this river and these families. 

The Film:  “First Descent: Kayaking the Klamath"

Jessie Sears professional website
Instagram
Jessie Sears at Oregon Public Broadcasting
Karuk Tribe

Oregon Public Broadcasting

Paddle Tribal Waters & Rios to Rivers

New York Times about Paddle Tribal Waters

Underscore Native News
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Swiftwater Films
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River Roots
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In the spring of 1980, nine-year-old Bridget Crocker, while playing next to her home river, fell from a downed tree into the cold swollen Snake River — a scary swim that initiated a deep, lifelong relationship with rivers and river people. This year in 2025 her memoir “The River’s Daughter” traces a thalweg of traumas, challenges and joys that played out in both her river life and her family life. Today Bridget hosts retreats and workshops on rivers, guides on special occasions, and is creating her dream life with her family. 

GUEST
Bridget Crocker
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Book
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RELATED EPISODES FROM THE RIVER RADIUS
Sexual Harassment in River Guide Culture
Queer River Guiding; 1 Professional's Experience
Tools for the River Guide
River Guide Unions
Endless Summer 1: The Guide Life
Endless Summer 2: A Guide's Sunset
Endless Summer 3: Guiding with a Healing Intention

ORGANIZATIONS FROM EPISODE
A Dash
America Outdoors
River Management Society
Responder Alliance
Whale Foundation
Redside Foundation

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Across the United States, 640 million acres of public land belong to all of us — rivers that still run wild, deep canyons, mountain ranges, plains, and deserts. Places where the wild things live. Places we can still visit, explore, and trust that it will be there for generations or an eon. But this year, the push to sell or transfer those lands has surfaced — sometimes openly, sometimes in quieter, less obvious ways. Why is this happening? Who’s behind it? And how do we, as citizens, stand up in simple, effective ways to keep public lands public? Our guest is Land Tawney, from American Hunters & Anglers — a man who comes from a long line of land conservationists. He brings both a historical lens and a practical action plan for keeping these 640 million acres wild, free, and truly ours.

GUEST

American Hunters and Anglers
@americanhuntersanglers

Land Tawney

Minority Outdoor Alliance
@minorityoutdooralliance
 

RESOURCES

202-224-3121
Switchboard US Capital (call, tell them your zip code, and that you want to speak with your Rep and/or Sen…you might have to call 3 times to get your Rep and both of your Senators)
 

Ambler Road
Roadless Rule, USFS
Attempts to sell public lands

PREVIOUS RIVER RADIUS EPISODES

Are Public Lands 4 $ale?

The Gila: River, Place, Family
(Sen Martin Heinrich)


ELECTED OFFICIALS & PUBLIC LANDS

US Senator Martin Heinrich, New Mexico
@senatormartinheinrich

US Representative Gabe Vasquez, New Mexico
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US Representative Betty McCollum, Minnesota
@repbettymccollum

US Representative Ryan Zinke, Montana
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US Senator Steve Daines, Montana

US Senator Ron Wyden, Oregon
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US Senator Jeff Merkley, Oregon
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US Senator John Hickenlooper, Colorado
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US Senator Susan Collins, Maine
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US Representative Brian Fitzpatrick, Pennsylvania
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US Senator John Thune, South Dakota

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Dr. Adriana Martinez grew up in Eagle Pass, Texas, swimming and playing in the Rio Grande as a part of daily life. 10 years after getting her Ph.D and teaching university classes in fluvial geomorphology, her Texas hometown and home river became the iconic center of the modern immigration debate and the setting for the controversial river buoy border fence.  In this episode she tells us about the research she is conducting to learn how the buoy fence in the Rio Grande is impacting this river, and about growing up riverside to an international border. 

GUEST

Dr Adriana "Didi" Martinez
Professional Website
@thinkingriverthoughts

RESOURCES

Media on buoy fence w/Dr Martinez

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Tim Palmer has spent much of his life floating down, writing about, and photographing America’s rivers. With 34 books and scores of awards to his name (including the first-ever lifetime achievement award presented by American Rivers), he’s one of river conservation's most seasoned voices. In this episode, guest host Clark Tate joins Tim to talk about a recent run down the newly dam-free Klamath, his lifelong bond with Pennsylvania’s Youghiogheny River, the origins of America's flood management system, the benefits of giving rivers the room they need to run when the waters inevitably rise, and how increasingly severe floods both reveal our vulnerabilities and offer opportunities.

GUEST
Tim Palmer

Seek Higher Ground: The Natural Solution to Our Urgent Flooding Crisis
Youghiogheny: Appalachian River (updated edition)
Watching the River Run (photo book)

HOST
Clark Tate
@lclarktate

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This September brings the one year anniversary of Hurricane Helene and the powerful flooding that pounded Southern Appalachia. Incredible work has been to remove the bridges and cars and houses and trees that filled up the rivers. And more work continues today and for the next 18 months to clean up the remaining smaller trash. In this episode we learn about these details and how some communities did not flood because dams were removed prior to Helene, and how more dams are being removed post Helene.  Our guests are Hartwell Carson and Andy Hill from Mountain True in North Carolina. 

GUESTS

Hartwell Carson
Andy Hill
Mountain True
@mtntrue
facebook

PREVIOUS EPISODES ON HURRICANE HELENE

Part 1, Hurricane Helene in Appalachia, The Science
Part 2, Hurricane Helene in Appalachia, River Rescue

EPISODE ON RIVERS OF SOUTHERN APPALACHIA 

10 Rivers For 2025

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American Rivers
American Rivers: Hurricane Helene
American Rivers: Rivers of the United States

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After incredible collaboration and momentum at the Snake River amongst several tribes and two states to create a legitimate pathway for the 4 Lower Snake River Dams to be breached and therefore allow the anadromous Salmon, Steelhead and Lamprey of the basin to avoid extinction, the collaboration has been cancelled by the current presidential administration.  Why?  What comes next?  Our guests are full of passion and wisdom for this story: Kayeloni Scott from the Columbia Snake River Campaign and Libby Tobey from the Grand Salmon Project. 

GUESTS
Kayeloni Scott
Columbia Snake River Campaign

Libby Tobey
Grand Salmon Project
 

FILMS ABOUT SNAKE RIVER
"Covenant of the Salmon People"

"The Grand Salmon"
Watch for live events, request a screening in your town

RESOURCES
Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative 

"Trump Administration Abandons Deal With Northwest Tribes to Restore Salmon"  Pro Publica

"Remove the dams. Replace their services. Restore the Salmon."  Idaho Outfitters & Guides Association

"Snake River Fact Sheet"  Idaho Rivers United

PREVIOUS RIVER RADIUS EPISODES ON SNAKE RIVER
Salmon 1: Mountain Origins

Salmon 2: Big Dam Problems & Solutions

Salmon 3: Fighting Extinction Real Time

Dam Removal: Updates & Trends

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For 40 years, American Rivers has published its annual Most Endangered Rivers list — a powerful statement sparking awareness and action to restore waterways across the country. In this 40th anniversary episode, we talk with Chantel Dominguez from American Rivers to explore this year’s list, river by river, moving through the challenges they face and the tangible solutions for each. We also revisit three rivers from last year’s list to learn about their increasing health and vitality.

Thumbnail pic credit:  Sinjin Eberle, American Rivers

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Chantel Dominguez
American Rivers
American Rivers Most Endangered Rivers List
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Link to Supportive Action for Each River:

Mississippi River 

Tijuana River

Rivers of Southern Appalachia

Passaic River

Lower Rio Grande River

Rappahannock River  

Clearwater River Basin

Susitna River

Calcasieu River

Gauley River

RELATED EPISODES

Part 1, Tijuana River, Binational Flow
Part 2, Tijuana River, Source of the Pollution
Part 3, Tijuana River, Solutions

Previous American Rivers Most Endangered Rivers List Episodes
10 Rivers for 2024
10 Rivers for 2023
10 Rivers for 2022

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Every year, we ask one big question: What is a River? This year, the currents brought us to Dr. Robert Macfarlane—writer & professor—and his newly released book, Is A River Alive?, Dr Macfarlane joined us to explore that very question. From the chalk streams from his home in England to rivers across three continents, Macfarlane pursues his answers. In this episode, we move through his global journey, his new water literacy, and why he calls himself a teacher first.

GUESTS

Dr Robert Macfarlane, University of Cambridge

Dr Robert Macfarlane, Wikipedia

@robgmacfarlane

Book:  IS A RIVER ALIVE?

Audio Book:  IS A RIVER ALIVE?

Film:  MOUNTAIN narrated by Willem Dafoe

The poem Inversaid by Gerard Manley Hopkins

Rights of Nature

Universal Declaration of River Rights

River Seine in Paris and a Declaration of River Rights

Britain's Premier Nature Writer Cries Us a River
 

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In this episode, we dive into About Damn Time, Dana Romanoff’s powerful film that follows Cindell “Dellie” Dale and a crew of boatwomen as they navigate handcrafted wooden dories down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. They spent 17 days and 277 miles running the river and filming the story. Their journey becomes a vivid exploration of women reshaping a river culture long dominated by men. We ask: How did they work together to tell this story? What wisdom flows from these women to the next generation of dory guides? And why is the dory the most poetic boat ever built to run through the Grand Canyon?

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Dana Romanoff

Cindell "Dellie" Dale

OARS Grand Canyon Dories

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Down River Equipment

American Rivers
American Rivers: Take Action
American Rivers: Colorado River in the Grand Canyon
American Rivers: Rivers of the United States

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Grand Canyon National Park
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