CRBI to hold ‘paddling through history’ event

Published 11:54 am Wednesday, October 6, 2010

On Oct. 17 the Coosa River Basin Initiative (CRBI) will give local residents a chance to discover more than 1,000 years of human history in the Etowah River Valley at its “Paddling Through History” event at Valley View Farm and the Etowah River.

The event is a fundraiser to generate support for the Etowah Blue Trail project—an effort to create a 160-mile long canoe and kayak trail from Dawsonville to Rome.

Paddling Through History begins with a tour of the historic Valley View Farm, a circa 1848 plantation home that was occupied by Union troops during the Civil War. After the tour, patrons will stroll to the river for a six-mile paddle trip from the Farm to Euharlee. Along the way, they’ll paddle over 1,000-year-old rock dams built by the area’s original inhabitants. Native Americans used these rock weirs to capture fish, and dozens of them cross the Etowah between Cartersville and Rome. A catered dinner in the courtyard of the historic Valley View home will follow the paddle. A kayak raffle and auction featuring a guided striped bass fishing trip on the Etowah are also included.

“The Etowah holds the best family paddling in North Georgia,” said Joe Cook, Executive Director & Riverkeeper with CRBI. “The historic resources in the river itself and through the river corridor are, perhaps, unsurpassed in the state. We need to develop and promote these rich cultural and recreational resources as amenities for local residents and visitors to the area.”

Tickets to the event can be purchased online at www.coosa.org. The suggested donation is $75 or $130 per couple and includes canoe/kayak rentals for the paddle, dinner and beverages, a chance to win a new recreational kayak, and a year’s membership in CRBI. Only 75 ticket to the event will be sold; the RSVP deadline is Oct. 11. The event begins at 1:30 p.m. and runs through the early evening.

Money raised at the event will support the creation of the Etowah Blue Trail and will be matched by a challenge grant from the Lyndhurst Foundation in Chattanooga. The Foundation is providing up to $10,000 to create a website for the Blue Trail that will include interactive maps for the length of the river.

CRBI is working with local governments and other stakeholders to improve access to the Etowah River in Bartow & Floyd counties as well as in the Upper Etowah River upstream of Lake Allatoona. Currently, the organization is working to establish public boat launches at Euharlee Road and at US 411 in Bartow County.

CRBI is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and member of the international Waterkeeper Alliance. Its mission is to inform and empower citizens to protect, preserve and restore North America’s most biologically diverse river basin.