This is the newsletter that I prepared for the FRWC's quarterly newsletter that will be distributed during the
first week of April.
The "Flint River Paddlers" is a group of paddle sport enthusiasts from the Flint Michigan area who share a common
goal of paddling and conservation on the Flint River Watershed. We invite all ages and all paddle sport interests and abilities
to join our group; canoeists and kayakers alike are welcome to join us, and both interests are present in our current membership.
The group will paddle everything from kayaks, canoes and rafts on everything from our “home river” (the Flint
River) to more technical whitewater runs throughout Michigan and other parts of the country.
The group works closely with the Flint River Watershed Coalition (FRWC) to help promote river conservation, stewardship
and the recreational aspects and opportunities present in the Flint River Watershed.
The "Flint River Paddlers" is a grass-root FRWC sponsored organization. Currently there is no financial obligation
related to becoming a member of the Paddlers. However, due to our association with the FRWC and our common goals, we do strongly
urge all of our members to consider joining the FRWC.
The group had its first weekly paddle on Sunday the 16th of March and although it was a rather cold endeavor,
we did have four members who braved the elements. With warmer weather I am sure that the number of paddlers will increase
dramatically as we already have over 50 people on our group’s mailing list. The weekly paddles will most likely continue
to be every Sunday at 1:00 PM. All of the relevant information such as put-in location and take-out location can be found
on the club’s website at www.flintriverpaddlers.org on the Calendar of Events page.
Also worth mentioning is a trip that we are taking over the weekend of April 19th. Some members of the group,
potential members, and friends of the group will be traveling to West Virginia to whitewater raft the Lower New River. If
anyone is interested in more information about this trip, or would like to join us, you can send me an e-mail and also find
all of the details on our website. There is a dedicated page just for this trip. I will need a finalized count and money for
the trip no later than April 9th, 2008. This is a great warm-up trip for our October 11th trip on the
Upper Gauley River, which contains five Class V rapids, and requires prior whitewater paddling experience.
As a part of our conservation efforts, the Paddlers will also organize and lead a “Paddle Pick-Up” event
both in the spring and in the fall of each year. The first “Paddle Pick-Up” will be May 10th, 2008
in conjunction with the FRWC’s pick-up. We will be paddling from Mitsen Landing (south of Flushing Road and west of
Ballenger Hwy) to Downtown Flushing picking up any and all trash that we find both in the river and along it’s banks.
If you would like to help with this event, or learn more about it, we will be having a pre-planning meeting on May 1st,
2008 at Gander Mountain on Miller Road at 7:00 PM.
It is my belief that this year, the first year for the Flint River Paddlers, promises to be a very exciting one indeed.
Through the generous sponsorship of the FRWC, not only will we be able to have fun paddling together and expanding the recreational
user base on the Flint River Watershed, but we will also be able to work to improve the resources that we use for our sport.
I sincerely look forward to seeing each of you on the river sometime soon. So get out there and get your paddles wet.
Yours in paddling,
Eric M. Hall
Founder of the Flint River Paddlers
erichall@flintriverpaddlers.org
