May Monthly Meeting Recap:
Jason Frantz and the Hellbender
Our May Meeting was on Friday, May 3rd, at the Watershed Center!
Jason Frantz presented “Questionable Judgement: Building and Rowing a Wooden Boat through the Grand Canyon.”
Jason Frantz is a Webster County Native who has owned and operated Woodshop Artisans for over twenty years. He builds custom cabinetry, furniture, and the occasional boat. He has spent the last 50 years of his life chasing the next bend in the river. Jason has Whitewater rafted the Middle Fork of the Salmon, Green, San Juan, and Colorado Rivers and worked as a wilderness canoeing guide in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota. Mr. Frantz showed photos of his boat in the early stages of building. His original trip to the Grand Canyon was planned for 2021 but was pushed to 2022 due to COVID-19 and the National Park permit system. He connected with other boat builders out west and spent 500-600 hours building his dory named Hellbender. A dory is a small, shallow-draft boat, about 16 to 23 feet long. He said that dory boats are different from other boats because they are self-bailing. Hellbender takes 45 seconds to a minute to drain with a passenger, 21 days of gear, and 800 pounds of water, and it weighs around 1,500 pounds fully loaded. Mr. Frantz’s dory is wooden, lined with Fiberglass, and has sassafras gunnels. He named it Hellbender to make it personal to the Ozarks and because the hellbender (salamander) thrives in fast-moving fresh water, as he hoped his boat would. Mr. Frantz showed photos from his adventures and described the Grand Canyon’s geology. He said that the Grand Canyon gets 5 million visitors each year, but most do not leave the rim. About 27,000 boats enter the canyon, 7,000 of which are private boaters, and 3,500 are private rafts, but only 30 dory boats make the trip each year, according to the National Park Service.
Missouri Department of Conservation Update:
Kara Tvedt: Tvedt said that MDC (Missouri Department of Conservation) Director Sarah Parker Pauly is leaving MDC, and the new Director will be Jason Summers. Mr. Summers is the 10th MDC Director, and he has been with them since 2008, leading various programs. Kara said there will be new Land Conservation Partnership Grants available, with three different grant programs ranging from $100,000 to $300,000 for cost share and heavy infrastructure. She said that all land must have a 15-year public access agreement, and RFPs will come out mid-summer. Kara said that 12 floating wetlands are going in the Little Sac River this spring, the equivalent of 3 acres. They are experimenting with non-plastic design using recycled plastic and aluminum pontoons, some of which will be installed at Fellows Lake and Valley Water Mill Pond. Ms. Tvedt said MDC is hosting an aquatic plant class toward the end of June to show Homeowners Associations how to establish aquatic species.
Regional Updates:
Mike Kromrey said that Saving Bull Creek is available for purchase at the Watershed Center, Watershed’s Summer Gala tickets are for sale, and he introduced guests from Arkansas: James McCarty and Becky Roark. James McCarty with Beaver Water District, a utility service in Northwest Arkansas, said that they use a sustainable funding model, are impressed by Watershed, and think there is room to learn from each other. Becky Roark with Beaver Watershed Alliance said they are working on “landscape scale” initiatives with $5 Million awarded to help producers in the War Eagle region. This project has 14 partners, about 1/3 of the region’s water comes from the War Eagle area, they are focused on removing large dams, and have been able to leverage fish passage funding. Kelly Guenther announced that it is Mike Kromrey’s 18-year anniversary with Watershed. Todd Wilkinson said River Rescue registration is open on the JRBP’s website. Vince Currao said that Fellows Lake water levels rose 6 feet in 3 days with recent rains. He said there is a groundbreaking ceremony on 5/3 at 1 p.m. for the new Kiwanis-funded playground. Vince said the season is in full swing, and Fellows is hosting an accessibility event with Missouri State’s Master of Occupational Therapy on May 4th. Charlie Burwick said that the Audubon GLADE student program is coming up. Steve Runnels encouraged caution during flood-season saying, “turn around, don’t drown.” Rob Hunt announced that The Nature Conservancy is hiring an urban water ambassador in the Saint Louis area.
