just lose it
Published September 23, 2009 | 
If you want to view paradise / Simply look around and view it / Anything you want to, do it
Wanna change the world? / There’s nothing to it
– pure imagination- willy wanka soundtrack
So I read an article in our local paper where our city leaders are discussing how to improve our river district. Of course they offer the same old, “historic street lamps & office buildings” response. What’s a river district without expensive offices after all!? I’m not saying that’s bad mind you, just a bit limited. So I did something I knew I’d regret and gave a call to our local Alderman to ask him if anyone had thought of the river itself as a draw? The Baraboo has always been a paddling destination waiting for someone who would see it through. Those who have given it a go have always hit the same rock (well lots of rocks actually). The stopper is the 2 mile stretch through the city of Baraboo where the river drops some 4 feet, but often get’s so shallow that it becomes impassable. These are the sort of conditions that some communities have found a little gold mine in developing paddling and white water parks. After a long war of course.
Now what complicates things further is that the Baraboo river has been the center of a sometimes controversial restoration project for years. The Department of Natural Resources in the end was able to remove all the dams that had been placed on the river and these days the river is recovering fantastically. The Baraboo now flows freely over 100 miles from it’s headwaters out to the Wisconsin. I’m sure you are starting to see the potential for paddlers! But something would have done so canoes and kayaks can move through the city section. Which brings me back to that phone call. Frankly I was awash in “not our river”, “think about the bass”, “DNR’s problem”, & “go somewhere else..”.
There’s a reason that I don’t live a more public life of course. I simply get frustrated. When talking to folks about outdoor activities as a viable option it simply feels as if you’re trying to discuss quantum mechanics with “Night of the Living Dead” zombie extras. They don’t just get it. I have lots of admiration for all the folks around the country who have worked so tirelessly to make their rivers into something everyone can enjoy, fisherman, paddlers, and yes even those guys who want to see it out their office window. After making one phone call simply to present the idea, I realized that what little faith I have in my fellow man would be gone in no time if I took up the fight.
The Baraboo river does not have the sort of flow that will ever turn it into a real whitewater playground. However, with a bit effort it could be a great paddling destination regardless and still offer a couple play spots right in the city as well. It’s obvious in our area which is practically inundated in State parks, natural areas, trails & rivers that paddlers would come. In fact they are already here. The city simply needs someone with the will of steel to open their eyes to the potential. As Dylan said, “It Ain’t Me, Babe!”.
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