Making Rivers Cool Again: AGO Listening Session in St. Louis

August 27, 2010 | Blue Trails, Protecting Rivers

Matt Rice
Director, Colorado Conservation

I had a chance to attend the America’s Great Outdoors (AGO) listening session in St. Louis last week.  Like many of the listening sessions this summer, it was divided into two parts; a youth session in the morning and general session in the afternoon.  River protection and freshwater have been major themes at most of the sessions but at the St. Louis  session, everyone was talking about rivers! 

Youth Session

Over 250 teens were in attendance at the morning session.  They were genuinely engaged in the listening session and had a lot of great ideas. One idea in particular stood out: the administration needs to make getting outdoors cool again.  There was a lot of good discussion about how to go about this; outdoor education in classrooms, better access to places like the Mississippi River, public media campaigns with celebrities. 

For me, rivers have always been the coolest place outdoors.  There is something for everyone on the river. Explorers can enjoy camping along river banks.  Sportspeople can enjoy hunting and fishing. Those who want to cool off on a hot day? Tubing’s the answer. Adrenaline junkies can boat the whitewater. Just want to relax?  Bird and wildlife watching is just the thing.

Some of the kids agreed with me. Check out this video of the participants at the youth session talking about why they think rivers are cool.

General Session

The official session in the afternoon was great.  The main themes of the discussion were Blueways or water trails, improved management of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, and protection of the Missouri and Mississippi River confluence.  Prior to the event, I worked with a great group; Friends of the Ozark Riverways on outreach, turnout, and media.  They have been working hard for years to increase awareness of the management problems at the park.

The highlight of the general session was when Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar complimented my t-shirt, which read “Keep Rivers Cool.”  He repeated this when I gave my comments to the principals on the podium.  Following the session, I gave Secretary Salazar a t-shirt and had the chance to speak with him for a few moments.

I have been to quite a few of these sessions now and have had the chance to hear Salazar speak a few times and one thing is clear: Salazar is committed to keeping rivers cool.

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