The River Radius Podcast

Before Manifest Destiny arrived in North America, the Greenback Cutthroat Trout only lived in the South Platte River Basin of the Southern Rockies in Colorado.  This fish was beat up as it lived in the streams where Europeans first inhabited Colorado.  It was then accidentally saved from extinction over 100 years ago by an unknowing entrepreneur who put it up high in a mountain stream where it was left alone for 100 plus years.  In the 20th Century, fish enthusiasts and researchers began work to help this fish recover, except they lacked the absolute clarity of what fish was what in the now genetically mixed fish populations and streams of Colorado.  When a PhD student decided to perform research on the historical path of the fish, many details emerged that were unexpected and that changed and corrected the path of recovery for this fish.  This is a story of raising a nation, changing the natural landscape and then working to repair the harm.  This is a story of the resilience of life and of the dedication of a group of people who work to bring this fish back home.  

Colorado Parks and Wildlife

Dr Jessica Metcalf

Dr Kevin Rogers

Boyd Wright

Rocky Mountain Flycasters TU

Greenback Cutthroat Trout

Endangered Species List

Colorado State Fish

Article / Research 1

Article / Research 2

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The Poudre River starts in Rocky Mountain National Park and flows through fantastic country.  Immediately when it leaves the mountains it is put to work providing water for humans in many applications.  This river even has its flows augmented by inputs that are diverted from streams on the other side of the Continental Divide.  Today, there are several Front Range municipalities and water districts actively working to develop water rights from the Poudre for distribution and use in existing and emerging homes.   One project is NISP, Northern Integrated Supply Project; the other is the City of Thornton pipeline.  There is very real concern more water extraction from the Poudre will dry this river up before it flows through the City of Fort Collins, Colorado.  On this show we are joined by American Whitewater, Northern Water, Diversify Whitewater, Rocky Mountain Adventures, and Larimer County.  Unable to join were the City of Thornton and the City of Fort Collins.  This is the story of water and humans in the west in the modern moment.  

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This episode digs into a key concept of waste and the philosophy of Georges Bataille that Zak Podmore uses to define waste.  The authors that have influenced his writing and given him insight into challenging topics are explored to include Charles Bowden and Ed Abbey.  Zak talks about the process of writing this book and the mentors that supported him: Amy Irvine, Craig Childs, Mark Sundeen.  Zak also explains the power of his Mom's life on his life, and then simply enough, uses his own adventures to weave all of this knowledge and wisdom into some fresh perspectives on the pressing layers of life that recirculate through generations.  Zak is writing and publishing this book in the beginning of his 3rd decade and he approaches it with frank humbleness and clarity.   

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In December of 2019, "The Salad Days" film was released telling a brief story of Herm Hoops's life.  He landed his dream job as a Ranger at Dinosaur National Monument, home of Echo Park.  He boated Desoloation Canyon on the Green River again and again and again.  Possibly his last trip down Deso is documented in "The Salad Days."  This interview is with Herm Hoops, his wife Valerie Hoops and film maker Cody Perry.  They talk about Herms life, the concepts of this film, and rivers need the boaters to care for the rivers, and how Herm sees his life.  

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While spending 25 days intentionally away from the world of technology and news and globalization, a group of friends navigated the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon building friendships, exploring the canyons, resetting their life trajectory.  In that 25 day period, a virus that started at a market in inland China has caught rides in cars, on planes and trains, and has moved to 6 continents, killing people, maxing out health care systems, scaring financial markets, causing rigid governmental responses, and in many places it is ignored as nothing big.  In one moment these friends are having moments of reflection and joy, and then moments of confusion, then they are welcomed back to their new paradigm.  Two members of the trip tell the story with humor and heartfelt observation.  They went into the canyon to take a break, and they come out of the canyon to concerns about family, uncertainty with personal employment, and wondering why there is a toilet paper shortage.  

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For two summers, I have been able to row gear boats down the Selway to support this archaeology research.  My view has been that of the laymen, the novice archeologist, the boater.  At the end of each summer's trip, I have interviewed Jeff Adams of Interior West Consulting to hear the onsite interpretation of what was recorded over the past 8 days.  The stone artifacts tell a story.  The river and its perfect water add to the story.  While I find it stubbornly awkward to make assumptions about a human existence a few hundred years ago to several thousand years ago, I absolutely thrive when I am able to contemplate my short life and how I am like, and am different from the humans who came before me.  This show is two people sitting in an amazing place wondering about life beyond their own.  https://www.facebook.com/theriverradius/?ref=bookmarks       Also on Instagram at The River Radius, and https://www.theriverradius.com

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2020 is an important push out year for this podcast.  Target topics are discussed here, and an invitation for you as the listener to engage.  Also, some insight is covered regarding what happened in 2019 to build this podcast.  

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Jenny and Mike Fiebig took 6 months off from their normal working, shopping, daily life to get back to the land and the river. They hiked to the headwaters of the Green River in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming and started walking, then packrafting and eventually they launched their custom dory on the Green River and went downstream, all the way to the Mexican border with the United States. This could be a story about all the big rapids and waves and runs....and its not. It’s a story about this married couple, these two humans and how they slowed down and went at the pace of a river for 138 days. Stereotypes fell away. New connections were made. And as they say, they met each again after many years of marriage.

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As the winter of 1983 closed out in the Western United States, the Central and Southern Rocky Mountains were covered in exceptionally deep snow. Spring was warming up and rain was falling. This combination of fast melting snow and rain timed the runoff into the Green and Colorado Rivers just perfect to create record high flows well above 100,000 CFS into Cataract Canyon. It was commercial river season in Cataract and two trips were being pushed into running the biggest water in North America to ensure the company made its profit. As the river level continued to rise, trips were loosing boats and the risk was intense. Bego, Laurie Cooper and Tim Cooper were guides that season and are still friends today. 35 years later, they told that story around the campfire of running Cataract Canyon in 1983, a boss who was seeing dollar signs, and helicopters that shuttled notes and people up and down the corridor. See more at Instagram and Facebook.

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