THE LIFE FORCE O F
B O I S E
A PORTRAIT OF
THE BOISE RIVER BY HAYDEN SEDER
Cities are often compared to living organisms—entities that evolve and adapt. If the city of Boise is a living organism, then the Boise River that flows through it is certainly its lifeblood, critical to the survival of the greater organism, but with a life of its own. The evolution of a river isn’t as noticeable as that of a city; indeed, it is sometimes only over the course of years, decades, lifetimes that one can see the shifts in a river. In his memoir Life on the Mississippi, Mark Twain describes the river as: a wonderful book—a book that was a dead language to the uneducated passenger, but which told its mind to me without reserve, delivering its most cherished secrets as clearly as if it uttered them with a voice. And it was not a book to be read once and thrown aside, for it had a new story to tell every day. Like any river, the Boise River has many of its own stories to tell. The Lower Boise River (henceforth the Boise River), one of multiple forks, is part of the Lower Boise River Watershed, a 836,876-acre (or 1,307 square mile) area encompassing farm land, city, rangeland and forest. The Boise River starts its journey at the Lucky Peak Dam and Reservoir southeast of Boise and flows northwest until it meets the Snake River west of Parma. These 64 river miles form what Boise residents call the Boise River, a source of recreation, quality of life, revenue and habitat for wildlife. When thinking of the Boise River, many think of it as a spot for floating and tubing—after all, over 125,000 people float the river each year, according to Ada County Parks and Waterways. But the Boise River provides so much more than a leisurely way to get from point A to B in the city. BOISEWEEKLY ANNUAL MANUAL 2020-2021
The Boise River Enhancement Network reports that the river has helped change the landscape of the Treasure Valley by providing a source of irrigation water, filtering and diluting pollutants, helping reduce floods and erosion, and providing habitat for numerous species of birds, fish and other wildlife. Native Americans used the river for water, transport, and fishing, and later, fur traders, prospectors and early settlers did the same. Today, we no longer need the river for its historic purposes, but our present quality of life is better for it. The Boise River begins at the Lucky Peak Reservoir, an area used for swimming, picnicking, fishing, boating, water skiing and biking. Head farther downriver to Barber Park and you’ll find the launching off spot for floating or tubing the river. Air stations are typically available to inflate devices (though due to COVID-19, the 2020 season did not have them) as are rentals for rafts, kayaks, and tubes and a shuttle. Float six miles downstream to the getout at Ann Morrison Park, a journey of roughly two hours. While floating the river, you’re sure to see people jumping from one of the several bridges you pass under. Look alive if you’re floating—a recent rant published online complained of teenagers attempting to jump from bridges onto floaters, a punishable crime in the city of Boise. At any point along the river, one may spot fisherman reeling in wild trout, stocked hatchery rainbow and brown trout, and steelhead in one of the best urban fishing rivers in the country. There
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W W W. B O I S E W E E K LY. C O M
