from YubaNet.com

Hundreds prepare to Paddle the Tuolumne River from the Sierra to the Sea

By: Tuolumne River Trust
May 7, 2009 - On May 15 the Tuolumne River Trust will launch Paddle to the Sea, a three-week festival to celebrate the Tuolumne River and build support for stewardship of the River from the Sierra to the Sea. While most volunteers are signing up for one of the sixteen legs, Owen Segerstrom is planning to do them all.

"I decided to do all 16 legs because I grew up hiking, swimming, and boating on the Tuolumne and I want to make sure it will be there for my kids and grandkids to enjoy," said Owen Segerstrom, a volunteer with the Tuolumne River Trust. "I'm sure I'll have some fun adventures along the way too."

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Wild and Scenic designation for the Tuolumne. While that act of Congress protected the upper 83 miles of the River in 1984, the Tuolumne is far from restored. More than half of the River is diverted for urban and rural use before it reaches the San Francisco Bay-Delta, the Salmon population has plummeted from 18,000 in 2000 to just a few hundred, and the Lower Tuolumne no longer meets water quality standards under the Clean Water Act.

"The Tuolumne is the lifeblood of communities from Sonora to San Francisco," said Eric Wesselman, Executive Director of the Tuolumne River Trust. "Through Paddle to the Sea, we are celebrating the tremendous progress we have made in protecting the Tuolumne while building support for better stewardship of the River we all depend on for food, drinking water, electricity and recreation."

To complete the journey, kayakers and rafters will begin on the upper stretches of the Clavey and Wild and Scenic Tuolumne Rivers. Canoeists will take the lead for the paddle through the Central Valley, passing the confluence of the Tuolumne and San Joaquin Rivers, and continuing on to the San Francisco Bay. The following events along the way will send off the Paddlers and welcome them in-style.


Friday, May 15
Kick-off Concert at Mountain Sage
5pm-9pm
Mountain Sage Nursery 18653 Main Street Groveland, CA


Join us to send our paddlers off in style with an evening concert featuring bluegrass band Coyote Hill and jamband Pathetic Honey at Mountain Sage Nursery in Groveland. Don't miss out on this opportunity to celebrate the start of our journey to the sea in this beautiful Sierra setting! Call (209) 962-4686 for tickets. All proceeds benefit the Tuolumne River Trust and include a one-year membership.

Wednesday, May 27
Canoe The Lower Tuolumne River
8am-5:30pm
Wine reception following at Camp 4 Wine Cafe
1508 10th Street, Ste. B
Modesto, CA

Join us to canoe one of the most scenic sections of the Lower Tuolumne River. This section is famous in the fall for its easily viewed salmon run and year-round for abundant wildlife sightings. Join us that evening at Camp 4 Wine Café in Modesto with hosts Damon, Liz, and Royal Robbins, one of Yosemite's climbing pioneers.

Saturday, May 30
Green on the Stream
2pm-6pm
Tuolumne River Regional Park
1200 Tioga Drive Modesto, CA
Free admission


Welcome our paddlers as they come down the Tuolumne through Modesto, the third largest city in the Central Valley. Green on the Stream will have fly fishing demonstrations, a nature walk along the oak trees and river, fun and interactive wildlife exhibitions for kids, a rock climbing wall, face painting clowns, and a special appearance by MID's Splasher the Frog. Live performances are scheduled by Modesto's first 60's inspired go-go dance troupe, the Radiowaves, the catchy pop jazz duo Shadow Puppet Theatre, and Sonora's Coyote Hill who blend folk, bluegrass and blues.

Monday, June 1 (media only)
Canoe The Lower Tuolumne River
1pm-5pm
Dinner reception immediately following
Modesto, CA
No charge

Join Tuolumne River Trust's Executive Director, Eric Wesselman, on this special canoe trip on the Tuolumne and San Joaquin Rivers to tour the Dos Rios Ranch and see how this exciting project fits in with our broader work to protect the Tuolumne River. We will canoe the Lower Tuolumne River past the confluence with the San Joaquin River; tour our Big Bend restoration site and the proposed Dos Rios Ranch restoration project; pass the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge; and wrap up with dinner at the historic Old Fisherman's Club on the banks of the San Joaquin River.

Thursday, June 4
Boat Tour of The Delta
10am-2pm (lunch provided)
Stockton, CA
No charge

Join Tuolumne River Trust's Executive Director, Eric Wesselman, for a boat tour of the Delta and see how the fate of the Tuolumne River is inextricably linked to the fate of the Delta - the largest estuary on the west coast of the Americas.

Saturday, June 06
San Francisco Grand Finale
12pm-4pm
Aquatic Park
Beach Street
San Francisco, CA
Free admission

Join us to celebrate the completion of Paddle To The Sea and welcome our paddlers to the San Francisco Bay at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge! This festival will feature live music, a tasty barbeque, kayak rentals, and a Paddle To The Sea Completion Ceremony all adjacent to historic Ghirardelli Square with great views of Alcatraz and Coit Tower, and the only downtown beach with a protected cove for swimming and boating.

Saturday, June 06
Sail San Francisco Bay
9am-12pm - Waterfront sail to Aquatic Park
2pm-5pm - Sail to The Golden Gate Bridge
San Francisco, CA
No Charge

Sail alongside the kayakers completing the final leg of Paddle To The Sea to Aquatic Park in San Francisco and on to the Golden Gate aboard a 35-foot cruising catamaran. Two separate trips are available.#
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