For 25 years, a rule at the United States Forest Service has been in place that does not allow new roads to be built. These roadless areas inside our National Forests total about 59 million acres, and they have remained without roads, without human vehicle traffic, without heavy equipment working to extract natural resources. Inherently, this has protected rivers and their headwaters, their entire basins, their narrow riparian canyons, and all the critters in the water and on the land. In August of this year, 2026, the current US Presidential administration announced in the Federal Register their intent to rescind this rule. This episode hosts Chris Wood who was working directly on the Roadless Rule when it was initiated in 1999 and completed in 2001. Today Chris Wood is the President and CEO of Trout Unlimited. He talks with the River Radius about why the rule was created, the culture of trees and forests and roads that supported this rule 25 years ago, and also how we can all engage with public comments until September 21 on this topic.  

GUESTS

Chris Wood, CEO & President at Trout Unlimited 

Trout Unlimited

RESOURCES

Original Roadless Rule

Federal Register
August 20, 2026
Roadless Announcement
 

Comment at United States Forest Service

Comment at TU

Comment at American Whitewater

Comment at American Rivers

Comment at Greater Yellowstone Coaltion

Chris Wood from Trout Unlimited in the Wired to Hunt Podcast, with great and longer history of timber sales in US
Apple Podcasts
Spotify

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Valley Auto Group
Auto purchase includes $500 donation to river group
Vehicle can be shipped to you in 48 states

Outdoor Alliance / Grasstops Collective

THE RIVER RADIUS

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Sometime in the 1980s, after reading a hand written note telling him to come up for a river trip, Greg McFadden turned north on a rural highway in Idaho. He had no idea about river running and river culture, nor did he know, that note and river would lead him to become a lifelong river guide and eventually purchase the river outfitter hosting that very first river trip. Today Greg leads a group of 4 full time staff and 38 guides as they take their guests down guided river trips on the Middle Fork of the Salmon and the Main Salmon Rivers in Idaho, sometimes all in one long trip. Last year they only hired one new guide, and their crew spans 5 of the named generations. Greg also travels to Washington DC advocating for rivers and river guides, he is a painter with his own downtown gallery, even if it is the size of a van, and he also guides a couple of river trips for a Grand Canyon river outfitter because it feels good and keeps him connected. 

Greg McFadden

Canyons River Company

Canyons Booking (Food & Wine Trip)

IG @canyons_river_company

FB @canyons

BIPOC Outdoor Collective

Pandion Institute

Les Bechdel

Susan Bechdel

Greg's Art Gallery

America Outdoors

Fun Luvin' Fleecewear

Blue Moon Yurts

River Radius Episode with Canyons Founder
Les Bechdel, Apple Podcasts
Les Bechdel, Spotify

SPONSORS
Poudre River Fund

NRS

NRS PFD for Whale Foundation

Whale Foundation

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Les Bechdel is a river runner, an outfitter, an author of the first comprehensive book on modern river rescue techniques, a kayaker, a husband, a catarafter, a father, a river ranger, a grandfather, an instructor, and a soldier. In the 1980s, river rescue became a more organized and developed concept and practice, and Les Bechdel was at the center of that movement. In 1985, the first edition of the book "RIVER RESCUE" was published with Les and Slim Ray as the authors. The book is now in its 4th edition. Les was selling kayaks during the transition from fiberglass to plastic. Eventually, he moved to Idaho from North Carolina with his family and started a river outfitting company in the Salmon River system that is still thriving today. Beyond all of that, Les is a kind and open man who tells stories of a life shaped by rivers and family. AW Bio Bio article

River Rescue: A Manual for Whitewater Safety, 4th Edition
By Les Bechdel & Slim Ray

Les Bechdel "Guidefather" 1996, newspaper article

Charlie Walbridge

Canyons River Company

Southern Appalachian Whitewater Hall of Fame

Bio Bio accident report from American Whitewater, 1981

Payson Kennedy, episode on The River Radius, Apple Podcasts

Payson Kennedy, episode on The River Radius, Spotify

SPONSORS
Poudre River Fund

NRS

NRS PFD for Whale Foundation

Whale Foundation

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Heather Hansman publishes her 3rd book today, "Fierce Country: The Untold Story of Three Women Who Ignited America's Love for the Wild." Heather joins the River Radius as a returning guest to talk about the subjects of her book: Georgie White, Anne LaBastille and Dolores LaChapelle. We also get into her travels to learn about these three people, how going through the complete collection of one person helped clarify details, how writing a book is a multi-year commitment, her own feelings about the book and the nervous tension she rides as her book publication date arrives. Heather is a longtime river runner and river guide, and is the author of the recent article exposing many details about the current river permitting system. Her writing is funny and serious and deep, and our conversation lets her share with us her journey of writing this excellent book about rivers, people, boats, wild places, ecological theories, and the bias that gets in the way of understanding our natural systems. 

Heather Hansman website

"Fierce Country" Book Tour

@hhansman

"Wreck Dot Gov" (article about the river permit system)

Previous River Radius Episode with Heather Hansman Apple Podcasts

Previous River Radius Episode with Heather Hansman Spotify

SPONSORS
Poudre River Fund

NRS

NRS PFD for Whale Foundation

Whale Foundation

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Devon Barker-Hicks is an Idaho born and raised river runner, growing up in the Barker family of river outfitters. She is a lifelong public school teacher, a global kayak competitor, and a dedicated advocate and protector of the waters and rivers of Idaho. Her program "Dare to Kayak," brings kayaking to the public schools of Idaho, and a film about that same program premiers on July 22nd in Riggins, ID. She grew up running rivers with her family, working as a guide at the family outfitter company from childhood through her college summers. Today she teaches kayaking through the "Dare to Kayak" program and at her brother's outfitting company. She is considered by her Idaho river peers to be a leader in the knowledge of the rivers of Idaho, and a leader in caring for the rivers and the river runners, and she serves on the Board of Directors of Idaho Rivers United. In addition to all of this, we also talk through her 2020 two-month tour of the entire watershed of the Owyhee-Bruneau Canyonlands. 

GUEST
Devon Barker-Hicks

Dare to Kayak

Writing: "The Confluence of Passions on the Canals of Amsterdam"

Writing: "The Owyhee Bruneau Canyonlands All Forks Sabbatical"

South Fork Salmon, Barker video

Barker River Expeditions

Southfork Salmon & Idaho Rivers United video

BOD @ Idaho Rivers United

Film Premiere

SPONSORS
Poudre River Fund

NRS

NRS PFD for Whale Foundation

Whale Foundation

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Each year American Rivers, a national river focused advocacy organization publishes a list of 10 rivers that are beautiful rivers and rivers that want our engagement. These are the rivers of the 2026 Most Endangered Rivers List. American Rivers first published the Most Endangered Rivers List in 1984, and now 41 years later, they still bring to our attention ten rivers of elevated importance. This year's rivers run between 8 and 400 miles in length. My guest again this year is Chantel Dominguez from American Rivers. Chantel brings infectious optimism to the power of highlighting these rivers. 

GUEST
Chantel Dominguez

American Rivers|

MER LIST 2026
America's Most Endangered Rivers of 2026

Video of AR's MER List 2026 on YouTube

Support American Rivers

SPONSORS
Poudre River Fund

NRS

NRS PFD for Whale Foundation

Whale Foundation

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What happens when you invite the best river kayaking athletes from around the world to meet up for a 3-day race on the wild and rowdy Class 5 North Fork of the Payette River under the big sun and blue sky of Idaho? You get the North Fork Championship of 2026. After a multi-year hiatus, one of the favorite races among paddlers and fans is back, now with a solid foundation and strategic stability to return year after year. We talk with the founder of the race, James Byrd, and a board member of the newly established board of directors, Aaron Pruzan. These guests are deeply passionate about this race, paddling, this river, and bringing conservation of rivers to the culture of this wild race, all in a way that keeps stoke on high. 

Aaron Pruzan
Rendevous River Sports / Jackson Hole Kayak School

North Fork Championship

FILMS
Wild Water, Teaser, 2010 film

Several North Fork Championship short films on Vimeo

SPONSORS
Poudre River Fund

NRS

NRS PFD for Whale Foundation

Whale Foundation

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This is our 5th of five episodes with various River Forecast Centers of the United States. In the uppermost northeast corner of the US, the Northeast River Forecast Center is bound on three sides by water: the Great Lakes to the west, Canada's lakes and bays to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. The mountains of this region collect this moisture from various weather events and send that water down the river valleys. In this episode we talk with Bill Leatham, a Senior Hydrometeorologist with the Northeast River Forecast Center. This landscape is impacted by its regional waterscape, the hurricanes in the Southeast and even the weather patterns of El Niño and La Niña. What winter weather did they receive? When did their snow melt? Are they experiencing a drought? What type of storms do they expect this summer?

River Forecast Centers

NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NWS National Weather Service

SPONSORS
Poudre River Fund

NRS

NRS PFD for Whale Foundation

Whale Foundation

PREVIOUS EPISODES ON RIVER FLOW FORECAST

Southeast River Forecast Center 2026 - Apple Podcasts

Southeast River Forecast Center 2026 - Spotify

Colorado River Basin Snowpack & River Flow 2026 - Apple Podcasts

Colorado River Basin Snowpack & River Flow 2026 - Spotify

California & Nevada Snowpack & River Flow 2026 - Apple Podcasts

California & Nevada Snowpack & River Flow 2026 - Spotify

Columbia Basin Snowpack & River Flow 2026 - Apple Podcasts

Columbia Basin Snowpack & River Flow 2026 - Spotify

2024 Snowpack & River Flow - Apple Podcasts

2024 Snowpack & River Flow - Spotify

2023 Western Snowpack & River Flow -  Apple Podcasts

2023 Western Snowpack & River Flow - Spotify

Atmospheric Rivers 101 - Apple Podcasts

Atmospheric Rivers 101 - Spotify

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The Southeast River Forecast Center hosts a landscape that has the Appalachian Mountains in the north, is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to its east and the Gulf of Mexico to its south, has the Florida Peninsula jutting into those ocean waters, and lowlands between the oceans and mountains. Rain and hurricanes are powerful and important parts of the climate in the Southeast and this region has the most rivers of all the River Forecast Center domains. Did this region have a warm and dry March like much of the country did?  How was their winter precipitation?  What type of summer river flow do they anticipate and what happens here if El Nino is truly the emerging influence? This is the 4th episode in a series hosting interviews with five of the thirteen River Forecast Centers in the US. Our guest for this episode is Haley Stuckey, Hydrometeorological Analysis and Support Forecaster with the Southeast River Forecast Center

GUEST

River Forecast Centers

NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NWS National Weather Service

SPONSORS
Poudre River Fund

NRS

NRS PFD for Whale Foundation

Whale Foundation

PREVIOUS EPISODES ON RIVER FLOW FORECAST
Colorado River Basin Snowpack & River Flow 2026 - Apple Podcasts

Colorado River Basin Snowpack & River Flow 2026 - Spotify

California & Nevada Snowpack & River Flow 2026 - Apple Podcasts

California & Nevada Snowpack & River Flow 2026 - Spotify

Columbia Basin Snowpack & River Flow 2026 - Apple Podcasts

Columbia Basin Snowpack & River Flow 2026 - Spotify

2024 Snowpack & River Flow - Apple Podcasts

2024 Snowpack & River Flow - Spotify

2023 Western Snowpack & River Flow -  Apple Podcasts

2023 Western Snowpack & River Flow - Spotify

Atmospheric Rivers 101 - Apple Podcasts

Atmospheric Rivers 101 - Spotify

Part 1, Hurricane Helene in Appalachia, The Science - Apple Podcasts

Part 1, Hurricane Helene in Appalachia, The Science - Spotify

Part 2, Hurricane Helene in Appalachia, River Rescue - Apple Podcasts

Part 2, Hurricane Helene in Appalachia, River Rescue - Spotify

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What will the rivers of the Colorado Basin have for flow this year? Many rivers already had one peak in March during the heat dome, and a second peak is expected in May. But as spring in the Rocky Mountains is unpredictable, it is currently snowing and raining in the northern basin. This episode is the third in a series of five interviews with the River Forecast Centers of the United States.  Our guest in this episode is Cody Moser, Senior River Hydrologist with the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center. We talk through the soil moisture of 2025, the winter of 2026, the March heat dome, the wet spring, and what may happen if El Niño fires up a wet weather pattern for the rest of the year. 

GUEST

Colorado Basin River Forecast Center

River Forecast Centers

NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NWS National Weather Service

SPONSORS
Poudre River Fund

NRS

NRS PFD for Whale Foundation

Whale Foundation

PREVIOUS EPISODES ON RIVER FLOW FORECAST
California & Nevada Snowpack & River Flow 2026 - Apple Podcasts

California & Nevada Snowpack & River Flow 2026 - Spotify

Columbia Basin Snowpack & River Flow 2026 - Apple Podcasts

Columbia Basin Snowpack & River Flow 2026 - Spotify

2024 Snowpack & River Flow - Apple Podcasts

2024 Snowpack & River Flow - Spotify

2023 Western Snowpack & River Flow -  Apple Podcasts

2023 Western Snowpack & River Flow - Spotify

Atmospheric Rivers 101 - Apple Podcasts

Atmospheric Rivers 101 - Spotify

THE RIVER RADIUS

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Apple Podcast

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Link Tree