With a mixture of excitement and nervousness, Vancouver’s Chelsea White and Hayes Guay from Vancouver nonprofit Columbia Springs quietly waited at the Felida Moorage boat launch Thursday morning. This was to be their first time on one of Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership’s “big canoe” paddling trips.
The pair first heard about the canoes at an environmental network meeting.
“I want to see all the birds and nature and have experts on the boat with us to explain everything,” White said.
The 1½-hour-long paddling trip on Lake River was the perfect opportunity. White and Guay were among two dozen local adults and kids to sign up for Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership’s last trip of the season open to the public. Each canoe can accommodate 12 adults or 14 to 16 adults and children.
The trips are hosted by the estuary partnership and the city of Vancouver’s Water Resources Education Center. Other program partners include the Port of Vancouver, Clark County, Oregon State Marine Board and city of Portland, to name a few.
“I’m a newbie to the environmental world, so I’ll be learning a lot today,” White said.
Guay said she was also looking forward to learning about the environment from an expert.
“I haven’t been out on Vancouver Lake or Lake River before, so that will be a treat,” she said. “I don’t totally know what to expect.”
Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership has hosted 57 paddle trips this year with another seven planned before the end of the season in October. Of those, four trips were open to the public. The group primarily works with youth organizations.
Jasmine Zimmer-Stucky, spokeswoman for the estuary partnership, said the nonprofit often works with “community groups that historically have not had access to river experiences, on-water experiences.”
Before setting off, staff from the Water Resources Education Center and estuary partnership help properly fit each of the paddlers with a life vest and then provide some basic paddling instructions and information about what to expect and see on the trip.
McKenzie Miller, environmental education coordinator for Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership, said the canoe trips are a great way for people to get introduced to nature.
“Part of the goal is just to provide access for folks that don’t own their own canoes or kayaks to get out on Lake River and Vancouver Lake. We hope that with giving folks access that they become more interested in our local waterways,” Miller said.
Staff from the Water Resources Education Center sit at the front of the canoes to educate the paddlers on the local natural history and point out the various species of birds, fish and other wildlife spotted during the trip.
However much fun it may be, she said there’s more to the paddling trip than watching for osprey, bald eagles or herons. Paddlers also learn about Lake River, how it’s influenced by the Columbia River, where it flows into the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge and Vancouver Lake, and some of the issues around preserving and protecting native species.
“We provide information about water quality, and we spend a lot of time looking at the birds. This is a great place for birding. It’s also providing that spark for interest in local wildlife,” Miller said.
Each canoe is outfitted with several sets of binoculars and books on native birds to make spotting wildlife a little easier.
White said learning more about the local waterways and wildlife will come in handy later.
“When I go out with friends and I’m able to point things out, I feel very cool,” she said with a laugh. “I know what that plant is or whatever.”
Bill Lide of Vancouver has participated in other education programs offered by Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership and Vancouver.
“It’s a nice benefit of living in this area,” he said. “I don’t know birds very well, but I enjoy seeing them.”
Miller, who has been with the Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership since 2005, said staff field many of the same questions on these trips.
“People are wondering if the water is safe to swim in. They want to know what wildlife live here. They are curious about where they can rent boats, how they can do this on their own,” she said.
Miller said the types of questions depend on the age group of the paddlers.
“Sometimes, we’re working mostly with kids, and they want to know if there are alligators in the water or if hippopotamus can survive here,” she said.
By comparison, Miller said adults tend to ask about cyanotoxins and what’s being done to reduce or eliminate the presence of blue-green algae blooms.
In the nearly 20 years Miller has been taking people out on the water, she’s seen a lot of changes — both good and bad. Although she doesn’t have any data to prove it, she said there do seem to be more blue-green algae blooms now than when she first started.
“One positive change is that people seem to have more access to affordable boats, so people are getting out on the water more,” she said.
Vancouver resident Anand Tawker said he was lured to the paddling trip by “the opportunity to be in nature, to explore my community. It’s a part of the community, the place I live in that I don’t get to explore much.”
Like others on the trip, Tawker was especially interested in bird-watching.
“I love the bird life around here. I’m particularly partial to raptors so I’m hoping I’ll see a bald eagle,” he said. “It’s always a grand sight.”
