Photo by Randy Sunderland
Biggest float yet
The 14th annual river awareness float, sponsored by the Conservation Center in Paonia, attracted 209 to float from the Gunnison River Pleasure Park to Gunnison River Farms near Austin. With a flotilla of some 40 rafts, paddleboards and kayaks, the group saw firsthand how much safer the river is for recreational users thanks to the Relief Ditch Diversion dam project which removed a major obstacle in the Gunnison River. They also were treated to witnessing an archeaological dig in progress being conducted by the BLM along a bluff above the river valley. Watch for more on this river trip in the next issue of the Delta County Independent.