About

Mission:

To inform and educate of the importance of protecting the integrated ecosystems, flora and fauna, and responsible use of river systems.

Responsible use generally constituting “sustainable use” of the resource, and avoiding any wanton waste.  In the words of Kenny Salwey:

“When we build our shopping malls, our highways, our artificial world, and we take away the critter’s homes, we take them away forever not just for today.  We don’t just kill one duck today to eat; we kill ducks that would have survived, would have thrived, would have reproduced for generation after generation.”

What is a river rat?

The river rats of old lived entirely by hunting, fishing, trapping, and gathering the major rivers and their surroundings.  The term “river rat” comes from the muskrat (or “rat” as it is often called), the original river rat.  A critter who makes the most of a spartan existence along the river banks, a tough little bugger – the title of “river rat” is something earned and to be proud of.

Kenny Salwey, one of the last of the river rats of old and great writer, defined a river rat as someone “too stubborn to freeze to death, too full of hot air to drown, and too damn independent to call anyone boss.”

As a lifestyle it is all but dead.  Even Kenny Salwey is no longer a “full-time” river rat.  He has taken his time and used to be an educator, speaker, and general advocate for the importance of wild places and rivers.

This has inspired many and carved a direction for a new guard of river rats.  People who not only know their river, its critters, and the skills required in the wild but also how to help our rivers.  At a time when they need us.  Many are improving, but most still need quite a lot of help.