Wild Rivers, Wild Brews
A hearty salute to the craft brewers out in Oregon, led by the gang at Arch Rock Brewing Company and their head brewer James Smith, who have formed the Wild Rivers, Wild Brews Coalition. From their webpage –
Clean water and healthy rivers are essential for great tasting beer. Clean water also plays a critical role in supporting healthy communities with drinking water, providing habitat for fish and wildlife and supporting local agriculture. Right now, some of the wildest, cleanest waters in the US are being threatened by proposed industrial strip mines. Our coalition of southern Oregon breweries is asking craft brewers across Oregon to stand together in support of protections that would keep the crystal clear, salmon-studded waters of the Kalmiopsis clean for communities, fish and wildlife and local businesses.
Read more at the link above.
Utah Stream Access Update: The Fat Lady (Still) Hasn’t Sung Yet
The good guy army of access advocates in Utah, led by the Utah Steam Access Coalition and their pro bono counsel, had a very good year in 2015.
10 days in trial for two different lawsuits yielded victories in both, the Weber case in particular resulting in Utah’s odious HB141 being declared unconstitutional. USAC grew their membership by over 20%, received their first grant, beat their fundraising objectives and garnered a fair amount of media attention.
Of note, as previously mentioned and as expected, those wishing to alter Utah’s constitutionally granted right for all to access the state’s navigable waters have appealed to the State’s Supreme Court, and the legislature (due to open in a matter of weeks) will likely not take up a legislative fix to the access issue until the USC has ruled.
We heartily agree that all of our compadres in Utah should now be contacting their state Reps and Senators in support of “the public’s right to use the public’s resource” (quote from the USAC) AND enforcement of current law to protect landowners’ against littering, vandalism and trespass.
The right to use the resource will forever be coupled to our responsible behavior.
More, no doubt, to come.
