Hoosier Canoe & Kayak Club

The White River Vision Plan is a joint effort between the City of Indianapolis and Hamilton County Tourism, Inc. in partnership with Visit Indy’s philanthropic arm, Tourism Tomorrow, Inc. to develop a comprehensive and coordinated regional, community-driven plan to enhance 58 miles of the White River in Marion and Hamilton counties. The goal of the vision plan is to create an accessible, recreational, and cultural environment that encourages a unique sense of place for the community as a whole.

The White River Vision Plan will be developed to promote:

• Access to the White River for residents and visitors — our two largest, most important audiences
• The environmental value and ecological quality of the river corridor, including its water quality and natural habitats
• Connection to attractions, arts and entertainment venues, hiking and biking trails, and neighborhoods
• Experiences along the water that contribute to our shared cultural heritage and history

As one of the largest Paddling Clubs in the state,  the Hoosier Canoe and Kayak Club would like to collect the comments and opinions of its members and represent the club at at least one of the Public Input opportunities scheduled now through November 19th.  Although these of course are open to the public, many of us have busy schedules and commitments that would prevent us from having that voice - but certainly if you are able to attend one of these meetings, we highly encourage you to go!  

We've opened this forum topic so that our membership can provide comments/questions/suggestions for those of us that attend the meeting can collect and provide collectively as representatives of the club.  Please feel free to check out the White River Vision Plan website here 

We will be collecting all comments from this forum prior to the October 5th meetings at the Harrison Center in Indianapolis or Nickel Plate Arts in Noblesville.

Thank you!!!

RIP Burt Reynolds and a cautionary tale:

Actor Reynolds was well known for several films, most notably Deliverance, 1972.  He recently died and should be remembered for his outspoken views on natural heritage preservation— as emphasized at the very start of the film. 

At the start of their foursome canoeing adventure, the “last chance to see the river” before it disappears, Bobby (Ned Beatty) dismisses Lewis’s (Reynolds’) angry condemnation of the impending dam which will imminently flood the Cahulawasse river valley just to “power more air conditioners in your smug little suburbs in Atlanta”, resulting, according to Lewis, in the wanton destruction of the river and its natural heritage. 

Lewis:  “… Talk about the vanishing wilderness..  They’re damming the river. Dammit, Bobby, they’re damming the river.  They’re going to flood an entire river valley.  It’s just going to be one dead lake…  They’re gonna rape it!”

The 3 other paddlers -- urban, non-outdoor types -- don’t  share Lewis’s angst and anger.  Bobby and Ed (Jon Voight) both declare that Lewis’s pro-preservation rant was “Extreme!  Extremist!”

However, after a day of experiencing the natural beauty of the river, relaxing around the campfire after dinner, Bobby acknowledges Lewis’s anger:  

Bobby, reflective and lamenting:  “Lewis, what you say is true-- there’s something in the woods and the water that we’ve lost in the city”.