8 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY June 8-14, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com 831 Early on a morning in May, a crew of six individuals gather at a staging ground in San Ardo, a few hundred yards from the Salinas River, to set out on a 10-mile trip down its waters to a takeout point by a bridge near San Lucas. The catalysts behind the adventure are Frans Lanting and his partner Christine Eckstrom; Lanting is a world-renowned wildlife photographer based in Santa Cruz County, and during the pandemic, unable to fly, he turned his focus local, to Monterey Bay. He and Eckstrom created a lavish coffee-table book packed with stunning photography—Bay of Life—but later realized the book was missing a key piece: the watersheds that feed into the Monterey Bay, mainly the Salinas River, which at approximately 175 miles is the longest river in the Central Coast region, and ninth-longest in the state. Also assembled are Fred Watson, a CSU Monterey Bay environmental science professor and one of the co-founders of the Fort Ord Regional Trail and Greenway; Christie Fischer, the Northern California coastal conservation director for the nonprofit Trust for Public Land; and Chelsea Tu, executive director of nonprofit Monterey Waterkeeper. I was recruited to be part of the expedition because I had done this same trip two weeks prior, and because over the last decade I’ve hiked, canoed or kayaked down the river from the headwaters to the sea, minus about 25 miles in San Luis Obispo County from Atascadero to Camp Roberts. Quite accidentally, I became somewhat of an expert about the lay of the land, and much smarter people than me sought my advice. The group as a whole is interested in seeing the impacts of this past winter’s floods on the riparian corridor. I am there because I love river adventures; I’d already seen the impacts in my previous journey, and they did not register as alarming: Rivers flood on occasion, that is their nature. Within minutes after launching, we see a pair of bald eagles standing atop the skeletal branch of a cottonwood tree, watching us approach like sentinels. As we get closer, they fly off. The river is flowing at a current of about three miles per hour, and there’s no need to paddle except to steer away from whatever few obstacles are in the path, whether islands in the channel or willow branches along the banks. A few stops are made for Lanting to take photos, and for Eckstrom to take drone footage, and during that time, Watson is walking around taking closeup pictures of plant specimens, trying to identify them. The wild thing about the Salinas River is that it is wild. It’s a highly regulated river and groundwater basin in one of the most productive agricultural valleys on earth, the so-called “Salad Bowl of America.” But in South Monterey County, the river is a lush corridor with flourishing bird life and signs of beavers everywhere. Over the course of the day, there are five bald eagle sightings. There is also a mating pair of red-tailed hawks. Just as we’re pulling out our kayaks in San Lucas in the afternoon, an osprey flies overhead. Hardly anyone is seen floating down lengths of the Salinas River, although recreation is common. At bridges in South County, families and kids play in the river on summer weekends, and picnic on the shore. One challenge for boating is that in many years, the river doesn’t run fast or high. To that end, CSUMB graduate Kevin Miller, a friend who has been the architect of many of my adventures on the river, has taken on a project—salinasriver.org—to try to raise awareness of the recreational potential of the river and share information about access. While the riverbed in most places is owned by private landowners, according to both state and federal law, if the river is running the public has the right to access it. Per the U.S. Constitution: “All the navigable waters within said state shall be common highways and forever free.” And per the California Constitution: “Access to the navigable waters of this state shall be always attainable for the people.” The Salinas River is a jewel in our midst when it’s running, and traveling down it is unforgettable. On the River A group of professionals and a disheveled writer paddle down the Salinas River in South County. By David Schmalz Just two weeks after a paddle from San Ardo to San Lucas—a leisurely trip of about 10 miles when the water is flowing—the group reunites May 28 for a paddle from Bradley to San Ardo, pictured above. The Salinas River is a jewel in our midst. TALeS FROM THe AReA CODe CHRISTINE ECKSTROM LET' S CELEBRATE! 2023 BUSINESS EXCELLENCE AWARDS Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce VOTE NOW! BUSINESS EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2023 Celebrating Excellence in the Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce Business Community! Thursday, July 20, 2023 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM Monterey Conference Center Support Your Local Business Community & Vote Today!
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